


Shattered Illusions

by Caelore



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Backstory, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Filler, First Love, First Time, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Illustrations, Love Polygons, Multi, New Beginnings, Psycho Juvia, Raijinshuu - Freeform, Sex, Sexual exploration, Sketches, Slow Build, Smut, Surprises, Tags feel like spoilers, Tragic history, thunder god tribe, thunder legion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-05-27 02:53:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 39,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6266641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caelore/pseuds/Caelore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It did not take long for Fairy Tail to get back to normal after the Fantasia Parade. Wizards continued to fulfill job requests as they came in, with the occasional brawl to liven up the guild hall. Natsu and Lucy just finished a task that sent them to Mount Hakobe, and were returning to Mirajane to report their success. However, as they entered the guild hall, Natsu was surprised by an unfamiliar scent.</p>
<p>As Natsu sniffed around, he found himself eyeing a green-haired stranger seated at a table near the bar. Taking in a few more swift whiffs, he confirmed that she was the new fragrance he had detected. Enticed by the strange combination of flowers, potions, and iron, he inched closer to her, until Lucy slapped her hand on his shoulder.</p>
<p>Update: See Author's Note at the end of chapter 16!</p>
<p>Rewrite complete for chapters 1-2! New art uploaded for chapter 1!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Thanks for reading! This is the first story I've ever shared, so I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> I tried to follow the canonical timeline as much as possible without altering main story events. If you spot any inconsistencies, please let me know! Mistakes happen and this is one big work in progress. Constructive critism is greatly appreciated. 
> 
> I will be working on adding artwork in as well as I find the time to draw, ink, color, and so on. 
> 
> Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy. This is just the start of many many chapters to come!
> 
> -Cae
> 
> Chapter updated 8-23-16. Hope you enjoy the rewrite!
> 
> _______________________________________________

 

It did not take long for Fairy Tail to get back to normal after the Fantasia Parade. Wizards continued to fulfill job requests as they came in, with the occasional brawl to liven up the guild hall. Natsu and Lucy just finished a task that sent them to Mount Hakobe, and were returning to Mirajane to report their success. However, as they entered the guild hall, Natsu was surprised by an unfamiliar scent.

As Natsu sniffed around, he found himself eyeing a green-haired stranger seated at a table near the bar. Taking in a few more swift whiffs, he confirmed that she was the new fragrance he had detected. Enticed by the strange combination of flowers, potions, and iron, he inched closer to her, until Lucy slapped her hand on his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

“Who's that?” he asked, pointing at the girl with her back to them. Lucy examined the girl as she sipped on her drink. Her long hair was pulled back, two braids dangled near her ears and joined a loose ponytail that rested on the back of her neck. She wore a long thistle-colored trench coat that draped down to the floor beneath her. On the shoulder, an intricate rune was stitched in golden thread, while the back was adorned with a massive emblem of a tree, with a blazing sun surrounding it. The girl's brilliant blue scarf swayed slightly as she brought her mug to her lips for another drink.

“No idea. Maybe she's a new member?” Lucy shrugged.

“Alright!” Natsu shouted, “Way to go Fairy Tail!”

“Let's go introduce ourselves,” Lucy gestured towards the young woman.

“Right on!” As Natsu shouted again, the jade-locked girl turned around just in time to see Natsu leap towards her. She jolted as he landed just a few steps from her face. “Hey there!”

“H-hi...” she stuttered as she steadied her drink, carefully setting it on the table, surprised she hadn't spilled it. Lucy took a seat on the bench beside her, giving her a warm smile and a wave.

“My name is Lucy. Welcome to Fairy Tail,” she grinned.

“And I'm Natsu,” he belted as he pointed his thumb to his chest. “When did you join the guild?”

“Oh, hello there Natsu, Lucy,” the girl spoke softly, bowing her head humbly. “I'm Tama. I haven't _exactly_ joined, yet.”

“Say what? You haven't?” Natsu's face contorted, his lips pursed in a pout.

“Your master was kind enough to let me observe your guild before joining, to determine if this is the place I'd like to be.” Tama's fingers fidgeted nervously with the handle of her mug as Natsu glared at her.

“That's the first time I've heard of him doing something like that,” Lucy commented, pressing her hand thoughtfully on her chin.

“Whoah!” Natsu exclaimed suddenly, as if something just occurred to him. “You must be some kind a' big-shot to be getting special treatment from Gramps! Now I just gotta know... who are ya exactly?!”

“Rude much?!” Lucy snapped, swatting him on the shoulder. “Forgive him, he's a moron.”

“Hey!” he quipped defensively, glaring at Lucy as he rubbed the red hand print on his shoulder.

“It's quite alright,” the girl sighed, a relieved smile crossing her lips. “I guess it does seem strange to offer a 'trial period' to a stranger. Even I never allowed it in my guild. Your master is very kind.”

“What do you mean 'your guild'? Are you already in a guild?” Lucy implored.

“Not anymore,” Tama sighed. “I was forced to disband my guild.”

“What?! Forced? By who?!” Natsu snarled. “I'll make 'em pay!”

“Wait, forgive me,” she held her hands up, silently begging Natsu to stop summoning flames in his fists. “Forced may have been too strong a word. I decided to disband after my members went on to seek new ventures.”

“I see. I'm sorry to hear that,” Lucy comforted. “That must have been rough to see your members leave. Which guild were you in?”

“I was the leader and founder of the Enkando guild,” Tama smiled softly as she spoke.

“I've never heard of that guild,” Lucy added.

“That doesn't surprise me,” she chuckled. “We were a small crafting guild based up north.”

“That's totally awesome! You must be super strong if you were a guild master! Fight me!!” Natsu jumped onto the table and held up his fists, issuing an official challenge to their new acquaintance.

“Is infighting normal around here...?” Tama asked, leaning hesitantly towards Lucy.

“More so than you think,” Lucy grumbled. “You get used to it.”

“Come on, fight me!” Natsu stomped the table impatiently.

“So, are you looking to join Fairy Tail as a full member?” Lucy asked Tama, ignoring Natsu's temper tantrum. Tama found it hard to ignore the dragon slayer as he fumed and glared at her.

“I was considering it, yes,” she paused as Natsu tossed a bench across the room. “I-I've heard this is a great guild.”

“It really is. Don't let this moron scare you, he's just a bit hot-headed, and he sure does like to pick fights,” Lucy chuckled as she pointed in Natsu's direction.

“He's certainly lively,” Tama giggled, watching as he bounced around the lobby, shouting at the other wizards nearby.

“If you don't mind me asking, why did your members leave?” Now that Natsu was out of earshot, Lucy figured it was safe to ask without him jumping to heated conclusions before the girl could finish her story.

“Well,” Tama began, taking a deep breath. “As I said, we were a small guild to begin with. There were only eight of us, including myself. We were technically a magic guild, but it was not our main focus. Our real passion was crafting, things like potions, weapons, armor, that kind of thing.”

“That's neat. There's a wizard here named Erza who would _love_ to talk to you about weapons and armor,” Lucy smirked.

“Oh really? I'll be sure to mention that when I meet her,” she cleared her throat to get back on topic. “We founded the guild when we were children. As we grew up, the things we wanted changed. Our dreams evolved.” She frowned, a lethargic sigh escaping on her breath. “I felt guilty that our friends stayed despite wanting to move on with their lives. I wanted them to find what made them truly happy.”

“So you told them to leave?” Lucy frowned, her eyes empathetic.

“Yes. It was not easy to see them leave, but it was for the best. I was happy they were chasing their dreams, but, the guild was my home. When they left, it just felt... empty. That's when I decided it was time to officially disband and find a new guild.”

“That's so noble,” Lucy sniffed back emotional tears. “Stop before I start crying for real. I'm so happy to meet you, Tama. I hope you do decide to join up.” She held her hand out to Tama, giving her a firm shake.

“A pleasure to me as well, Miss Lucy,” Tama nodded as she shook Lucy's hand.

“Alright! Enough chatting, let's fight!” Natsu returned to their side, a wide grin spread across his face.

“Still trying to pick a fight, eh Natsu? Give it a rest,” Lucy sighed.

“I suppose if that's how it's done around here, I have no choice but to fight,” Tama grinned reluctantly.

“You mean it?! Alright! How about we make this more interesting?” Natsu puffed his chest out pridefully.

“How so?” Tama smirked, suddenly interested in his challenge.

“How 'bout a bet? If I win, you have to join Fairy Tail as a full member. Right now!” He bellowed, smacking his fists together.

“And if I win?” She grinned, raising an eyebrow as she sized Natsu up.

“Then you have to join anyway, so I can challenge you again!” He thrust his finger towards her face, his grin growing wider. This coaxed an outburst of laughter from the new wizard.

“Hah... Ha ha ha! You're on!” She chuckled heartily as she slid her legs out from under the table.

“Oh yeah! I'm all fired up!”

The moment Tama got to her feet, Natsu lunged at her. “Whoah! So that's how it is,” she shouted as she dodged his swinging fist.

“Nice one. You can't avoid 'em all!” He grinned, jumping and swinging wildly. She carefully avoided his attacks while analyzing his movements. She noted that his every action was powerful, violent, wild. She knew that even a single hit would probably send her flying, if he could land one. “No fair! Hold still!”

“You're strong!” she shouted, narrowly missing a fist to the shoulder.

“How are you this fast?!” He was getting annoyed that he could not land a blow. She noticed he was starting to get tired.

“Now's my chance,” she thought to herself. Placing two of her fingers to her forehead, she directed her focus to Natsu, still dodging his swings. “Let's see what's on your mind,” she whispered.

“Huh?! What are you doing? My head feels.. funny.” He stopped prancing around to hold his head.

“Oh, nothing,” Tama giggled.

“Ah! What is that?! I know you did something, tell me!” He stomped his foot as he demanded. Just then, he got a whiff of something. It smelled amazing! What was causing that wonderful fragrance?! He looked around to see a mountain of food he hadn't noticed before. “AH! THAT LOOKS AMAZING!” He rushed to the table where a lovely spread of delicacies were strewn about, diving in to a plate of delicious-looking meat.

Tama smirked. “I guess I win, right?”

“Huh? What are you talkin' about?” he mumbled, his mouth full of roasted meat. By this point, all of the wizards in the guild had stopped what they were doing to watch the duel between Natsu and the new girl. They wondered what the hell Natsu was doing.

“Natsu!” Lucy shouted. “I thought you two were fighting!”

“But this food looked so good. I had to get some,” he groaned defensively between bites.

“What food are you talking about?!” Lucy snapped.

“Huh?” Natsu questioned as he took another huge bite.

“You look like a moron! You're chewing on air, you idiot!”

“WHAT?!” He gripped the bone of the turkey leg he was eating tightly, confirming that it was there.

Tama rolled with laughter. With a wave of her hand, the feast Natsu had been gorging on disappeared.

Natsu cried, “It-it wasn't real?!” He slumped down at the table, defeated.

“Guess this round goes to me,” Tama sang happily.

“That was a dirty trick,” Natsu grumbled.

“How did you do that, Tama?” Lucy implored.

“Memory reading. I knew I couldn't get close enough to land a hit on him, so I had to distract him somehow. Used my memory reading to find out what would do the trick. Apparently food was the answer.”

“But we didn't see any food,” Lucy noted.

“You didn't, but he did,” Tama giggled again, pointing towards Natsu.

“Alright, you win,” Natsu groaned. “But you know what that means.”

“Yes?”

“You gotta join Fairy Tail. Right now,” he grinned.

“A deal's a deal, after all. You did agree to those terms,” Lucy chuckled.

“Fair enough. Who do I speak to about joining?” She poised triumphantly as Lucy gestured towards the woman with long white hair that was tending the bar.

“Welcome to Fairy Tail, Tama,” Natsu winked.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu and Lucy show the new girl how Fairy Tail does jobs!

“C'mon!” Tama felt her arm being tugged the moment her Fairy Tail guild mark settled on her shoulder. Natsu had grabbed her wrist and was dragging her excitedly towards the massive door of the guild hall.

“Wait, what? Where are we going?” She struggled to regain her footing, but it was no use, the dragon slayer was too strong.

“You're an official member now! Come on a job with us!” he chuckled as he waved a job request around vigorously. “You too Lucy! Let's go!”

“Where did you get that, Natsu?” Lucy groaned.

“I snagged it while Tama was getting her emblem,” he winked, as he pulled a confused Tama to the door, with Lucy sprinting after.

“Don't forget about me!” A small blue cat jumped into the air and sprouted an impressive set of white wings, then flew to land on Natsu's shoulder. Unbelieving, Tama blinked. _That's a cat... with wings. That's new..._

“Aw, I couldn't forget you lil' buddy.” Natsu patted the winged cat's head before shouting to Tama, “This lil' guy is Happy.”

“Nice to meet you, Happy,” she sighed. She was pleased to meet the creature, but her arm felt as if it was going to pop out of its socket, and the mage pulling her along didn't seem to notice.

“Alright! Let's go!” Lucy cheered, running alongside the eager wizard.

“Uhh, sure, I suppose I could join you,” Tama surrendered, knowing by now she did not have a choice with this group.

 

After Natsu's team left the guild, Gray turned to Mirajane who was busy wiping out a few glasses. “Mira, which job did they take?” he implored flatly.

“It was an escort mission,” she replied with a warm smile, setting down a glass and picking up another.

“You really think sending the new girl off with those guys is the best idea?” Gray scoffed as he leaned against the bar.

Mirajane paused, taking a moment to think it over before she laughed. “They should be just fine! What could go wrong?”

“Shouldn't have said that,” he sighed.

 

“Can you stop dragging me please?” Tama was delighted by the chance to work with her new companions, but this was ridiculous. Natsu had dragged her halfway across Magnolia in a matter of moments.

“Huh? Oh, sorry!” He released her wrist, shrugging as she stretched her reclaimed arm. “Forgot I was even pulling you!”

“Natsu, you really need to work on your people skills,” Lucy scolded. “Sorry, Tama. When he gets excited he forgets to think.”

“Hey now!” he snapped defensively.

“It's quite alright, I am excited as well. It's great to get to work with you already. What is this job, though?”

Natsu pulled the job form out of his pocket, waving it around yet again. “Let me have that!” Lucy demanded as she snatched it from his hands and read the job details. “Looks like an escort from Shirotsume to Oshibana.”

“That doesn't sound too difficult. Shirotsume is to the northwest, correct?” Tama looked around, gauging the position of the sun to get her bearings. “This way?”

“Let's go!” Natsu took off running as soon as Tama pointed.

“Natsu! Waaaaaait!” Lucy yelled after him as she started sprinting to catch up to him and Happy.

Tama sighed before breaking into a dash herself. She got the feeling she would be doing a lot of running with this team.

 

After what felt like forever, the team reached Shirotsume. Out of breath, Tama spoke up first.

“That would have been much faster if we'd taken a carriage,” she gasped, trying to steady her breathing.

“No kidding,” Lucy groaned. “But moron here can't handle vehicles.”

“Who are you calling a moron?!” Natsu snapped energetically. “We made it, didn't we?”

“You really need to get that motion sickness under control, Natsu. We would have been here hours ago and we wouldn't be exhausted,” the blonde mage panted.

“Meh. Let's go find this dude we're supposed to take to Oshibana,” he suggested. “Where's he live?”

Lucy fumbled to retrieve the folded paper from her pocket. “The job request says he's at this address. Let's head on over,” she stated as she pointed down the street. Tama adjusted her boot before hopping along behind them.

 

“This is it,” Lucy cheered as they stopped in front of a small building.

“A blacksmith?!” Tama's face lit up as she read the sign above the doorway, her eyes sparkling passionately.

“What's so special about a blacksmith?” Natsu looked at Tama and scratched his head, confused by her excitement.

“Nothing, I suppose. It's been a while, but _this_ was my trade. I've always admired the work of other craftsmen,” she beamed, gesturing towards the shop.

“Sweet,” Natsu whistled as he shoved the door open. “Hey, anybody home?!”

“Can I help you?” snapped a rough voice from behind them. “We're closed.”

“If you're closed, why is your door open?” Natsu asked innocently.

“It wasn't open, it was locked,” the voice snapped again. They saw that the voice belonged to an equally rough man of short stature. He was standing behind a counter, holding a large hammer in their direction. Natsu looked back at the door and realized that he had broken the doorknob clean off.

“Oh, sorry,” he chuckled. “Guess I don't know my own strength!”

“Beat it, before I use this hammer on you!”

 

“Cool it, gramps. You hired us, didn't you?” Natsu fumbled to put the doorknob back in the door, then set it on the counter after it refused to stay in place.

“What are you fools talking about?”

Lucy, who had been standing back, afraid of the large hammer the small man was swinging around, held up the job request. “Is this the job you requested of the Fairy Tail guild?” she said hesitantly. The old man looked carefully at the parchment before he put his hammer down on the counter.

“Yeah, that's mine. 'Bout time you fools got here. Been waiting for weeks,” the man grumbled.

“We apologize for your wait. We are here now, what can we do for you?” Tama spoke calmly, as if she had practiced those words. Natsu and Lucy were surprised how calm she was, despite having a hammer waved in her face.

“I wanna move my shop to Oshibana. There's no business here anymore, and the railway there will be great for selling my merchandise.”

“Understandable,” Tama continued speaking softly, visibly calming the man down, her smile genuine. “Can we help pack up your wares?”

“Yeah,” the man pointed towards the back of the building. “I've got a wagon out back. Everything needs to go.”

“Right away, sir.” Tama smiled as she gestured to Natsu, Lucy, and Happy to follow her to the back.

 

“What was that about?” Natsu eyed her skeptically.

“Whatever do you mean?” Tama asked as she lifted a heavy crate into the wagon.

“How did you do that?” Lucy asked Tama.

“I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking,” Tama replied, her face contorted.

“That dude was about to fight us!” Happy exclaimed, dropping some small items into the wagon.

“Why'd you stop him? I'm itching to fight someone! I'm so bored!” Natsu groaned as he lounged on a pile of wooden containers.

“You'd be less bored if you did some work!” Lucy snapped as she hoisted a crate. “You haven't loaded anything!”

“Yeah, yeah,” he whined as he effortlessly picked up the stack he had been sitting on.

“Anyway. You sounded like a real professional back there, Tama. I'm impressed,” Lucy smiled.

“I suppose I've never thought about it. I'm used to diffusing difficult situations. Back in Enkando I had to break up my fair share of fights.”

“Just like Gramps, eh? Except when he tries to break up a fight it gets even better!” Natsu chortled excitedly, getting riled up by the fond memories of brawling at the guild.

“You kids done loading that wagon yet?” the grumpy man appeared behind them, his face locked in an impatient scowl.

“Just loading the last crate now, sir. Are you ready to go?” Tama asked.

“Yeah. Let's get going. I don't want to waste any more time in this stinking town.” With that, Lucy helped the man into the wagon then took a seat herself. Tama climbed into the driver's seat, grabbing hold of the reins. Natsu stared at the wagon hesitantly.

“Natsu? Are you going to get in?” Tama wondered why he was hesitant.

“Uhhhhh... I think I'll walk,” he shied away as he spoke. Tama remembered what Lucy had said about his motion sickness.

“Oh, you hate vehicles, that's right. Surely you don't want to walk all the way to Oshibana.” She looked at Natsu as he shuffled gravel around with his sandal.

“What's the hold up?! Get in already, kid!” the old man barked at Natsu.

“Alright alright!” Natsu climbed into the back of the wagon and sat beside Lucy. Happy settled into a cozy spot next to Tama.

“Can I drive?” Happy asked Tama excitedly.

“Maybe next time,” she giggled as she gave the reins a snap. “Giddap!” She heard Natsu groan from the back as soon as they started moving.

“Whoah! Kid! Don't puke on my stuff!”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh blaaaaaarghhhh!”

 

“Hey, guys? You awake back there?” Tama called to her team mates in the back. Happy was asleep in her lap.

“Huh....?” Lucy groaned sleepily. She had not meant to fall asleep, but the gentle rocking of the large wagon had lulled her into a peaceful doze, unlike Natsu, who had passed out from his illness.

“Guys? We have a problem....” Tama's voice was strained, her pitch higher than usual.

Lucy was afraid of what she was going to say, but asked anyway as she sat up, stretching. “What's the problem, Tama?”

“Look....” She whispered from the other side of the fabric veil that separated them.

Lucy poked her head out of the curtain and gasped. They were surrounded! Everywhere she turned, bandits were perched, smirking as they eyed their prey: them!

“AAH!” Lucy's shout roused Natsu, who had been passed out for hours.

“Ughhhh... stop the ride... I wanna get off.....” Natsu moaned.

“Natsu! Wake up! We've got trouble!” Lucy shook Natsu until he was aware of his surroundings. “Tama, stop the wagon!”

“Stop? But they'll attack us!”

“It's the only way Natsu will be able to help!”

“Very well. As you wish.” Tama gave the reins a great tug. The powerful oxen halted immediately, their hooves leaving divots in the earth beneath them. As the wagon ceased, Natsu sprung back to life.

“Finally! Oshibana!!” Natsu sang, jumping to his feet, leaping out of the wagon. He looked around to see the bandits that were closing in on them. “Uhhhh... guys? This isn't Oshibana.”

“No kidding, Natsu! We need to shake these bandits!”

“Alright! I get to beat someone up after all! Happy, c'mon!”

“Aye sir!” Happy bounded into the air, grabbing a hold of the back of Natsu's vest.

“Fire dragon, ROAR!”

 

Natsu made quick work of the bandits, leaving their charred bodies sizzling on the ground. Pleased with himself, he returned to where the others were standing.

“Not bad, eh?” his face grinning from ear to ear.

“You. Stupid. KID!” The old man was fuming.

“What? Is that how you thank the person who just saved you?” Natsu demanded.

“You moron!” The man turned and pointed to the wagon.

“Uh... oh.....” Natsu's jaw hit the ground when he saw the wagon was nothing but a charred frame and a pile of ashes. In his excitement to fight off the bandits, he had set the wagon and all of the smith's wares aflame. Natsu's fire was so intense that even the forged steel weapons were nothing but small lumps of metal. Lucy sighed as Tama tried to calm the man down, shocked by what her new comrade had done to bungle the job so horribly.

“You destroyed my life's work! How am I supposed to open shop in Oshibana if all my wares are nothing but lumps and ashes?!”

“Maybe you can sell the ashes?” Natsu chuckled. Suddenly, a gust of wind enveloped them, blowing all the ashes away with it. “Or... not....”

“YOU FOOL!” The old man grabbed the hammer from his belt, the only thing that had survived Natsu's flame, and rushed at Natsu, swinging it wildly.

“Ah!” Natsu ducked just in time to avoid getting smacked in the face with it. “That does it! Fire dragon, iron fist!”

The female wizards stared, paralyzed by shock as they watched Natsu punch the old man with a flaming fist. The small man was launched into the sky until he was out of sight. Tama gasped, unable to speak.

Lucy was not happy. “Natsu! Way to go!” She rushed towards Natsu, punching him in the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. “You totally botched this mission, and then you punt the poor man into outer space? What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“He got on my nerves. Let's go home.” Natsu brushed his fist off and turned towards Magnolia.

“Wh-what just happened?” Tama stuttered.

“Well, you see, when Natsu gets mad, he doesn't control himself so well,” Happy informed her.

“I see,” Tama whispered. “Note to self, don't make him angry.”

“That's about right,” Happy shrugged.

Lucy followed behind Natsu, still chewing him out for his actions. “We aren't going to get paid now! How am I supposed to pay my rent now?!”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fiasco at Mt. Hakobe

“Hey Tama.”

“Oh, hi there. Gray, right?”

“Yep. I'm heading out on a job. Wanna come with me? Thought it would be nice to work together.”

“Sure. What's the job?”

“It's on Mount Hakobe. Client wants us to retrieve some mineral from the caves there. I heard you're good with that kind of thing.”

“Hehe, you heard right. We did a lot of material gathering back in Enkando. When do you want to head out?”

“Wanna go now?”

“Sure thing.” Gray led Tama out of the guildhall to start the trek to Mount Hakobe.

 

Not long after they departed, Juvia arrived at the guildhall. “Oh Gray, my darling! Where are you?” She floated around the hall in search of Gray.

“He just left,” Natsu grumbled.

“But, but where did he go? Without me?!”

“I dunno, but he left with Tama,” Natsu said as he went back to gobbling his breakfast.

“That harlot shall die for this!” Juvia raced out of the guild hall to find them.

“Ugh she's annoying.”

 

“Well, this is it. Mount Hakobe,” Gray stated, gesturing towards the snow capped peak before them.

“It's huge! The mountains I'm used to were no where near this massive,” she gazed in awe, feeling small compared to the majestic mountain ahead.

“So where you're from had mountains?”

“Yes, but this is incredible.”

“Now that you mention it, it is rather pretty.”

“Anyway, I don't believe we came here to see the sights,” she chuckled. “What's this mineral the client is after?”

“It's something called 'Annabergite.' Ever heard of it?”

“Annabergite, yes it sounds famliar. Let me think,” pressing her hand to her chin, she pondered. She knew she had heard that name before, but where? “Oh! I remember now. But, wait...”

“What's wrong?”

“Did the client say why they wanted this particular mineral?”

“No, should I have asked?”

“Annabergite. It's an arsenate mineral.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means it contains arsenic, a _very_ potent poison.”

“Why the hell would the client want that?”

“I don't know, but that's worrisome.”

Gray sighs, “Hopefully he has a good reason to want it. Let's go find this and then we'll find out why he wants it.”

“Very well.”

“So, any idea where we could find it?” he chortled.

“Wait, you took this job without knowing anything about it?” she sighed, surprised.

“Yep. I figured I could trust you to know about it. Haha!”

“Oh boy...” she groaned. “Alright. If it's known to form here, it's most likely in the depths of a cave. We'll be looking for some blue-green crystals. They're fairly small but we'll know them when we see them.”

“Awesome, I knew I could count on you!” He gave her a thumbs up, accompanied by a huge grin.

“Is this how everyone in Fairy Tail does jobs? Rushing in without all the information?” She asked hesitantly.

“Nope. Not usually. This just seemed like an easy job.”

“Alright. We should go find a cave.”

 

After a few hours of scaling the mountainside, the duo found the entrance to a cave.

“Whatcha think? This a good one?” Gray asked, turning towards Tama.

“This should be a good place to start, yes,” her teeth clattered as she spoke. “And just in time. I'm freezing.”

“Really? It's nice out here.”

“Um, Gray? Why are you in your underwear? In a blizzard?” She asked, blushing and looking away when she noticed his white boxer shorts.

“....good question.” He looked around for his clothes, but could not see them. He wondered when he had lost them. “Well, that's just great. Guess they're gone.”

“Hold on,” Tama said, still looking away from him. She fumbled around in her bag and pulled out a change of clothes that looked to be Gray's size. “Try these,” she held the clothes out for him to grab, still unable to turn in his direction.

“Do I even want to know why you have men's clothes in your bag?” He asked as he accepted them, dressing himself. “Wow, these are comfortable. And warm.”

She finally turned to Gray now that she knew he was dressed, her face still flushed. “I made those years ago. We were a crafting guild, remember?”

“Right. I guess that's better than swiping them off some poor unsuspecting guy.”

“...just what are you picturing?! Actually, no. I don't want to know. Ready to look for those crystals?”

Gray cleared his throat, wiping the indecent thoughts from his mind. “Yeah, let's go.” They started navigating the winding pathway inside the cave, each step leading them deeper into the darkness. Squeezing through a narrow passageway, they noticed the space open up to a cavernous chamber. “Man, it's dark in here. Do you have a light in that bag of yours?”

“Even better,” she said proudly as she held her hand up above her head. A faint glow radiated from her fingers, steadily growing brighter. In a short moment, the entire chamber was lit by the magic energy flowing around her hand. She flashed him a warm smile. “Better?” she giggled.

“That's amazing,” he smiled back. They turned around to examine the large open cavern. “Look! Down there!”

Tama looked to where Gray was pointing. She saw the light reflecting off of something, twinkling and sparkling. “Yes! That's it! That's the annabergite!”

“Well, that was easy. Let's go get it.” They carefully climbed down the cliff face to reach the crystal formation.

“How much of this did the client want, Gray?”

“I guess a handful would be enough, but just in case, let's get as much as we can carry.” He started to reach for the crystals to break off a piece.

“Wait!” She shouted, pulling his hand back.

“What?” He looked at her, confused. “This is what we came for, right?”

“Yes, but remember, it's poison? We need to handle it carefully.”

“Oh, right. I forgot. If it's toxic to the touch, how are we supposed to get it?”

“Leave it to me.” She reached inside her bag again, fumbling around for a moment. “Here we go.” She pulled out a pair of gloves, a bag, and some excavating tools.

“Geez, how much stuff do you have in there?!”

“Umm... Enough, I suppose. Never hurts to be prepared,” she grinned, then carefully began to extract the crystals from the rocks, placing them delicately in the burlap sack. When the bag contained a sizable amount of crystals, she tied it off and put it in her satchel, along with her tools and gloves. “Remind me to wash those gloves when we get back.”

“Oh, sure thing. You really were the right person to bring along. You really saved me there.”

“What do you mean? All I did was get some rocks.”

“Just think, if I'd come alone, I'd be dead. You said that poison worked quickly.”

She sighed, “Right. That's why it's important to know the whole story before going on a job,” she scolded playfully.

“Alright, alright, I learned my lesson. Ready to go?”

“Ready when you are.” As they turned back towards the passage they entered from, they heard a strange sound. The ground beneath their feet vibrated softly, a low growling sound echoing in the chamber.

“Whaaat is that?” Gray whispered, afraid to know the answer. Tama nudged him, silently pointing towards a small grotto beneath the ledge they had climbed down earlier. The two inched closer to each other, not taking their eyes off the grotto. As their arms touched, she clenched her teeth.

“Wh-what are those?” she whispered, her voice trembling as much as her knees were.

“Those... would be vulcans,” disdain dripped from his words as he responded flatly.

“They're going to attack us, aren't they?”

“Most likely.”

“I've never encountered a vulcan... what should I know about them before they rip us limb from limb?” Her pitch raised as the creatures slowly came closer.

“They're very strong. They're also total perverts. If they catch you, they take over your body and you become one of them.” Gray scooted her behind him as he assumed a fighting stance, preparing to use his ice-make magic to fend off the monsters.

“Wait, you said perverts? That gives me an idea!” From behind Gray, she could see the creatures were getting ready to charge them.

“What?! Well whatever it is, care to fill me in? And quickly?!” His tone was somewhere between frightened and annoyed.

Tama reached her arms around Gray and channeled her magic energy in front of them. “What are you doi-?” Tama cut off his question by putting her hand over his mouth, pulling him backwards. In front of them, he noticed her magic taking shape. “Mmph?!” He started to question what he was seeing, but her hand muffled his words. Before them, a hot spring appeared, with a number of female bathers lounging around in bikinis.

“Whoah!” He exclaimed as Tama lowered her hand from his mouth. He stared at the bikini babes, as the vulcans did. They watched as the vulcans approached the women, their perversion blatantly apparent.

“Shhh!” Tama gestured, her finger over her lips. “Come on!” She pulled him by the wrist as she cast another spell over the two of them. In an instant, Tama disappeared from his view, but he still felt her hand on his wrist. He looked down to see that he had disappeared too! They quickly made their way back to the cave entrance, Tama pulling him along until they saw the sunlight seeping through the opening up ahead. Once they were outside, Tama let out an exhausted sigh as she flopped to the ground.

“Wow, your magic is amazing. I didn't know you could do that.”

“Well, I specialize in illusions,” she panted, gasping for breath, clearly tired from using so much energy between running and spell casting. “Cloaking isn't much different.”

“You gonna be okay? You used a lot of power back there.”

“I should be. Just give me a moment, please. Not quite ready to climb down the mountain.”

As she rested, Gray scoped out a path down the mountain. “Hey, I have an idea.”

“Yes?”

“Ice-make.... sled!” With his magic, he created a beautifully detailed sled.

“You're quite an artist, Gray.” She stood up to inspect the sled. “This is exquisite!”

“Thanks!” He grinned. “Hop on. We'll be back down the mountain in no time!” He didn't give her much choice, as he lifted her and tossed her in the sled before hopping beside her. “Hold on tight!” Channeling his magic behind them, he released a burst of energy that propelled them forward. As they started to pick up speed, Tama gripped Gray tightly.

“Ahhh!”

“Haha! You okay?”

“I guess it's a bad time to mention I don't care for sledding?!”

“Oh, yeah it's a little late for that!” He could see she was scared of the ride down the slope. He wrapped his arm around her to make her feel safer. “Almost at the bottom. Just a little longer.”

“Have you thought about how to stop this thing?!” She shouted as she covered her eyes.

“Oh... um.........” The ground was coming towards them quickly. Before Gray could figure out how to stop the speeding sleigh, they crashed into a tree, sending them both tumbling. “You okay?” He called out to Tama, who landed a bit further than he.

“Thank God that's over,” she mumbled as she sat up, collecting herself.

“Sorry, didn't realize you were afraid of heights.”

“It's not the height that bothers me. It's the speeding out of control and crashing that bothers me,” she stated calmly as she took another deep breath to steady herself.

“Well, for being scared you handled it well,” he laughed, offering her a hand to stand.

“Alright, you got me. It was kind of fun,” she giggled.

“Let's go find the client and see what he wanted this stuff for.”

 

After failing to locate Gray in her usual stalking spots, Juvia returned to the guild hall. Brooding and fuming, she anxiously waited for him to return from his job with Tama. “Just what were they up to? Is she trying to steal my love from me? She will pay for this!” She muttered to herself, except that it was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

“Give it a rest, will ya? He asked her to go, not the other way 'round,” Natsu groaned. “And will you stop this rain? It's making my food taste bad.”

Juvia hadn't noticed she had caused rain clouds to form inside the guild hall. Looking around, she saw that the other Fairies were about as happy about them as Natsu was. As she scanned the faces of her peers, she heard the front door open.

“Whoah, what the heck happened here? Water main break or something?”

“GRAY MY LOVE!” Juvia shouted, rushing towards him, giving him an unwanted hug.

“Juvia, did you do this? The guild is flooded.”

“Wh-why yes, my love... I only just realized it... I...”

“Fix it, this is a mess,” he demanded flatly.

Her face dropped in shame, “Y-yes, my love.” With a wave of her hand, the water gathered and then vanished. She looked up to Gray in hopes of receiving his praise, but he had already walked past her.

“We're back, Mira,” Gray said as he waved her down for a drink.

“Welcome back, how did it go?” Mira asked cheerfully as Tama sat down at the bar beside Natsu.

“Well, Tama was amazing. But the whole mission was a bust.”

Tama blushed and grinned at Gray's compliment. “Turns out the client wanted us to retrieve a poison for him. He wanted to slip it to his wife..”

“That's terrible!” Mira's hand covered her mouth in shock.

“Yeah, so, we wouldn't let him have it. The wife was happy that we told her, though,” Gray took a swig of his beer.

“The police were happy too. Apparently it's not the first time the client tried something like this.” Tama swiped a bite of Natsu's food when he looked towards Gray.

“Oh well, at least it's over,” Gray sighed. “Too bad we didn't get paid.”

“Don't worry, this drink's on me, Gray,” Mira offered with a big smile. “You too, Tama. Can I get you guys a meal?”

“What?! They get free food? What about me?!” Natsu fumed.

“Haha, thanks Mira. Looks like you lost this one, Flame-brain!”

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tama encounters Team Shadowgear.

The Fairy Tail guild hall was much quieter today now that Natsu's team had left for Blue Pegasus. Tama spent the morning exploring the massive building. After many twists and turns, she found a staircase that led to the roof.

“This is amazing,” she thought to herself as she admired the sweeping panorama of Magnolia from the rooftop. Breathing deeply, she felt renewed by the fresh air. “Alright! Let's see the rest of this place.”

Mira had told her there was a library on the main floor. With the guild hall quieted, it seemed like the perfect time to check it out. After more wandering, she finally found it.

As she stepped inside, she took a long moment to look around, admiring the beautiful tiled floor, the high ceilings, and all the books in between. There must have been hundreds of thousands of books in the room. She started to read the titles on the spines when she noticed some wizards sitting at one of the tables.

“Oh, hey there!” the blue haired wizard called to her cheerfully.

“Hello. I don't believe we've met. I'm Tama.”

“You're our new recruit, right? Welcome! I'm Levy!”

“I'm Jet.”

“And I'm Droy.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Levy, Jet, Droy.”

“How do you like the guild so far?” Levy inquired, a smile lighting her face.

“I love the energy here. Never a dull moment,” she said as she returned the smile.

“That's for sure! Have you found a team yet?”

“Not exactly. I've only been on missions with Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray so far.”

“Have you thought about joining them?”

“They're great, but I don't think so. The way they work isn't really my style.”

“They are a bit crazy, aren't they?”

“You could say that,” they both laughed.

“What brings you to the library?” Levy asked as she closed the book she had been reading. “Anything I can help you with?”

“Mira told me about this place. With Natsu and his team out, I figured now was a good time to see it, before they tried to drag me out on another job,” Tama chuckled. She was actually relieved to have some time to recuperate after all the wild tasks they had invited her to join in on.

“They went to Blue Pegasus for the allied job, right? Let's hope that goes well.”

“I hope so. Let's hope it doesn't get too crazy,” Tama sighs. “Anyway, this library is larger than I expected. I wouldn't even know where to start looking.”

“Is there anything in particular you're looking for? Perhaps I can help. I'm in here all the time,” she shrugged as she shifted her pile of books around.

“Do we really have time for this?” a surly voice snapped. Tama hadn't noticed another wizard had been sitting along the wall. He tapped his foot impatiently, his arms folded across his chest.

“No need to be so grumpy, Gajeel!” Levy chortled, a sincere smile crossing her lips. “We'll find what you're looking for, too.”

“You'd better. I need a good place to train,” he grumbled.

“Pleasure to meet you, Gajeel.” Tama held her hand out to shake his, but he refused to unfold his arms. After a long moment, she pulled her hand back as he stared at her angrily. “O-kay then. So, you're looking for places to train?” She turned back to Levy to hide how embarrassed she felt.

“Yeah, but I can't seem to find a good place,” Levy sighed as she opened an atlas.

“What about this?” Tama flipped the pages of the atlas and pointed to a location that was rugged and mountainous, a waterfall rushing through it. Gajeel peered over Levy's shoulder and grunted, intrigued by this option.

“That could work, I guess,” he admitted, masking his interest with more grunting.

“Now that that's settled, what were you looking for, Tama?” Levy asked cheerfully.

“Nothing in particular. Do you know if there are books in here about weaving or smithing practices?”

“Hmm, I think so. Let me see,” Levy walked to a shelf just beyond where they were seated and pulled out a book. Placing a pair of red framed glasses on her nose, she opened the book and rapidly flipped pages. “Yes, this one, and this one, and this one...” She returned to the table, her arms full of books.

“Thanks, Levy,” Tama smiled. “I love those glasses. They suit you.”

“Oh, these? Thanks, but they aren't just meant to be fashionable. They're Speed Readers.”

“Speed Readers?”

“Yes, they let me read faster.”

“That's incredible! I'll have to get a pair of those.”

“I'm surprised you've never heard of them. They're fairly popular here.”

“Well, I suppose they aren't as popular in the small town I'm from,” Tama laughed softly. “I used to make some interesting gadgets, though. I wonder if I still have some with me.” She flopped her satchel on the table and began rummaging through it.

“Oh? You're an inventor?” Levy asked, intrigued.

“Not exactly. We crafted all kinds of things back in my former guild. Most of which never really caught on,” she stifled a chortle as she dug through her bag, reaching in and pulling out various, strange looking gadgets and devices. Gajeel inched his way over to the table when a twinkling caught his eye.

Leaping to his feet, he snatched up the object that had sparked his attention and waved it in Tama's face. “What's this thing?!” he demanded.

“That? Well, it was supposed to be a self-tuning guitar, but I never quite got it right.”

“Finish it. I want this.”

“Really?”

“Would I have said it if I didn't mean it? Finish it!” He held up the glistening metal frame, wires and cogs dangling from it, and set it on the table before Tama.

“Very well, I'll work on it,” Tama agreed, afraid of how angry he'd be if she'd said no. She found her first encounter with the iron dragon slayer quite intimidating.

“Good,” he snorted as he stomped towards the exit. When he did, Jet and Droy scooted closer to Levy, who sighed and shuffled books between her and the slender wizards.

“Looks like you made a friend, Tama,” Levy grinned as she pointed towards the door.

“What, really?” Tama was genuinely surprised.

“Yeah, not only did you find him a place to train, you have a guitar for him. Don't be surprised if you're his new best friend!” She covered her mouth as she laughed heartily.

“I never would have guessed that was him being friendly,” she giggled.

“Haha, that's Gajeel for you.”

“Well, I suppose I'll go get to work on this guitar.”

“Good luck! And welcome again to the guild!”

“Thanks, Levy!”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Raijinshuu

Slow days at Fairy Tail were becoming the norm. Jobs just weren't coming in. Most of the wizards loitered around the lobby. Even the Raijinshuu found themselves without a task and were sitting at a table near the bar, boredom dampening their moods. Bickslow broke the silence when he saw Tama sitting at the bar, sipping a drink as she spoke to Mira.

“Anyone ever notice how much Tama looks like our Freed?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Freed replied.

“You're right! There is definitely a strong resemblance,” Evergreen whispered excitedly.

“Hey, Tama! C'mere!” Bickslow shouted, his voice echoing as he beckoned her over.

“Oh, hello there. How's it going?”

“Quick! Stand next to Freed!” Bickslow exclaimed as he grabbed her arm and Freed's, pushing them together.

“Ah!” Freed and Tama both uttered as their arms pressed together.

“Look at that! With the green hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, they look like they are related!” Evergreen was a bit over-excited when she finally noticed their similarities.

“They even act alike!! Both proper and classy!” Bickslow giggled.

“You're so right, Bicks!” Evergreen agreed.

“They must be brother and sister,” Bickslow joked. Evergreen laughed as Freed and Tama silently stared at each other questioningly.

“...Brother...?”

“...Sister...?”

The two stood, staring at each other for a long moment. Suddenly, Freed snatched her into a tight embrace. With proud tears in his eyes, he shouted, “That must be it! Fate has brought us together, dear baby sister! It is my sworn duty as your big brother to keep you safe from harm! I shall always watch over you, as your silent protector! You simply must join the Raijinshuu, so that I may always protect you!”

Confused, Tama questioned, “Uhh... Freed? You know we aren't related, right?” Freed was so wrapped up in his own speech that he did not hear her.

Bickslow replied, “Let him have this one. Never hurts to have an extra set of eyes on your back.”

“Ha!” Tama chuckled, “I suppose you're right. But does he realize that I'm older than him?”

“Look how happy he is, Tama!” Evergreen pointed out, “I don't think age really matters at this point. Do you?”

“Dear baby sister, as long as I draw breath,” Freed interjected, “you shall never feel the sting of pain or defeat!”

Bickslow raised his fist to the sky as he cheered, “To the newest member of the Raijinshuu!”

Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow chanted in unison, “To Tama!”

Together, they all shouted, “To the Raijinshuu!”

[](http://s987.photobucket.com/user/Tamarysk/media/Raijinshuu.jpg.html)

From that day forward, Tama joined the Raijinshuu on every job they could land. They regaled tales of the legendary Laxus, and she reveled in the time they spent together. She wondered if she would ever get to meet Laxus, given that he had been expelled from the guild for his actions during the Battle of Fairy Tail just before she had joined.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sketch is old, but figured it was time to add *something* as far as drawings go. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!


	6. To Kunugi

“Someone remind me why Erza is coming with us?”

“Careful, Bickslow. She can hear you,” Freed suggested calmly as their group prepared to leave the guild hall.

“I came to observe our new member in action,” Erza stated flatly, glaring in Bickslow's direction. “Besides, this is a big job. You'll need my help.”

“It's unfitting of the Fairy Queen to tell lies, Titania,” Evergreen retorted. “You heard Tama makes armor and you wanted to buddy up to her.”

“Th-that has nothing to do with it!” Erza fidgeted as Evergreen stared her down. After a long, awkward moment, she admitted, “Okay, maybe a little! But it _is_ my duty as an S-Class wizard to monitor all members, and this is the first chance I've had to observe Tama. It's unfortunate that it means you will be present as well.”

“Watch yourself, Titania!” Evergreen snapped, reaching for her spectacles.

“I don't mind! Really!” Tama quickly stepped between the two female wizards, trying to diffuse the situation before they started fighting with more than quips. “Shall we be off?”

“Indeed,” Freed was already annoyed by the bickering.

“Oi, this is gonna be rough,” Bickslow whispered as he led the group outside.

 

As the train bobbed along the track, the group of wizards sat silently in their seats, passing glares of distaste and boredom. Tama stared out the window to avoid the passive hostility, but she couldn't take any more of it.

“Freed? What's our plan of action for this job?”

“Kunugi is our stop. In the forest just southeast of there, we are to meet with our client,” he replied, unable to mask his delight that the silence had ended.

“Seems like some strange stuff has been going on there,” Bickslow chimed in, leaning over onto Tama's shoulder playfully, coaxing a shy smile from her.

“What kind of strange things?” Tama's smile faltered.

“Spooky! Strange!” Bickslow's totems sang, making the group nervous.

“The request mentions something about 'statues coming to life.' There must be a logical explanation, no need to get everyone riled up, Bicks,” Freed scolded.

“You're no fun, Freed.” Bickslow slumped back in his seat and pouted.

“Dear Sister, are you alright?” Freed questioned as he saw Tama's face turn pale.

“Y-yes. Of course,” she admitted, her voice a bit shaky. “It's just, between the two of them,” she gestured to Erza and Evergreen, who were locked in a staring contest, “And the thought of statues coming to life, I'm a bit nervous.”

“Do not fear, Dear Sister. We will get to the bottom of the situation, and those two will cooperate. They just have some rocky history,” he glared at the two unblinking wizards, his cold stare finally breaking their focus. The two slumped back in their seats and looked out the window, huffing in their frustration.

Bickslow tossed his arm over Tama's shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “Don't worry, Baby. We'll keep you safe if you get scared,” he giggled seductively.

“Good heavens, Bickslow. Control yourself,” Freed sighed. “This is no time for flirting.”

Bickslow scowled at Freed. Tama shrugged, a low chuckle escaping on her breath. She was already accustomed to Bickslow's passive flirting, but she was relieved that Freed had put a stop to it.

A chipper voice came over the loud speaker, “Arriving at Kunugi Station.”

 

The Raijinshuu waited on the platform as Erza gathered her luggage from the baggage car. As she approached them pulling a large flat cart, piled high with boxes and parcels, they let out a collective sigh.

“Miss Erza, is all of this really necessary?” Freed gestured to the tower of packages.

“Of course it is. You never know what will happen,” she huffed defensively, giving the heavy cart a tug.

It made Tama uncomfortable seeing how much effort Erza was expending to pull her things along. “Erza, can I assist you with that?”

“Don't worry, I can manage. Thank you, though.”

“No, really, I can help.”

“Are you sure? It's pretty heavy.”

Tama calmly walked up to Erza's luggage and examined the tower of crates. She took a deep breath and slipped her satchel off her shoulder, placing it on the ground in front of her. Silently, she efficiently stuffed parcel after parcel into her bag, until nothing was left on the previously overloaded wagon. Erza's jaw dropped as she watched Tama stuff the entire wagon inside as well. Without missing a beat, Tama slung her satchel back over her shoulder and turned back to the group, a huge smile on her face. “See? No problem. Ready to go?”

“Where did you get that bag?! I simply MUST have one!!” Erza shouted, her eyes agleam.

“It's the only one like it, I'm afraid.”

“How much for it?!”

“It's not for sale, Erza...”

“Fight me,” Erza stated coldly, staring at Tama, beginning to summon a weapon. “I must have it, I MUST!”

“Are you sure you want to fight me?” Tama sighed, then smirked. “I doooo have all your things, by the way. It would be a shame if something were to happen to them...” she sang, running her fingers along the strap of her satchel.

Erza was stunned. No one ever stood up to her. “...Y-you dirty witch! Fine... I didn't want it anyway...!”

Tama grinned as Erza shuffled her feet. “Alright. Now, shall we get along? We have a job to do.”  The others stifled laughs, seeing the Great Erza at Tama's mercy.

“Very well. But I must know, isn't that heavy?” Erza was perplexed how Tama could carry all that luggage with no visible strain.

“Not at all. This bag is enchanted,” Tama lifted it up effortlessly. “There's no limit on its capacity and it renders all contents weightless.”

“That's incredible,” Erza eyed the bag, wondering if she could pilfer it when Tama wasn't looking.

“Thanks. Don't worry, your things are safe with me. So you can stop trying to plot a way to swipe my bag.”

Erza was caught off guard. She was not used to someone standing up to her, let alone reading her thoughts as she was plotting them. She let out a defeated sigh before following the Raijinshuu towards the outskirts of Kunugi, where a cabin was nestled within the woods.

 


	7. Chapter 7

As the team reached the outskirts of Kunugi, they found themselves among a thicket heavy with towering trees. Through the overgrowth, they could see a small cabin tucked away in the shade of the dark green canopy.

“It would appear this is where we are to meet our client,” Freed said calmly as he pointed towards the tiny dwelling.

“Must we go in there? Those woods look absolutely dreadful.” Evergreen snorted in disgust.

“Afraid of some evergreens, Evergreen?” Erza enjoyed the opportunity to jab her rival. Tama stepped between them as Evergreen slid her sleeve up, revealing a clenched fist.

“Ladies, come on. Save it.” She flashed an icy glare to both Erza and Evergreen that even caught the boys off guard. “Enough is enough. Let's do this job.” Her stare not dropping, she gestured towards the cabin.

The women shuffled their feet towards the opening in the woods, Tama just behind them. Freed and Bickslow waited a few moments before following. Freed leaned over to Bickslow, whispering, “She can be scary, can't she?”

“No kidding. Even Erza seemed scared,” Bickslow whispered back. “It's kinda hot.”

Freed let out an exasperated sigh, “Bickslow, must you always be so vulgar?”

“Oh come on, Freed. You're just mad Laxus isn't here for you to stare at.”

“Bickslow!”

From the distance, Tama shouted to them, “Coming?!”

“Y-Yes!”

 

Erza was the first to reach the cabin. She took a long moment to analyze it, admiring how well-built it was despite being terribly weathered. When the rest of the team caught up to her, she knocked loudly on the door. A young man, perhaps all of nineteen years old at a glance, opened the door. She was taken aback by his handsomeness, he was tall and lean, his mahogany hair slicked back neatly. “Can I help you?” His melodious voice soothed the tension she had towards her comrade just moments ago.

“Um, yes. You hired the wizards of Fairy Tail for a job?” Erza composed herself as she spoke.

“I did, please, come inside,” he stepped back from the doorway and gestured invitingly to the group. When everyone stepped over the threshold, he closed the door behind them and led them to a sitting area, where each wizard took a seat. The Raijinshuu were content to let Erza handle conversation with the client.

Erza did not waste any time. “Could you tell us more about this task? The request mentions statues coming to life?”

“I'm afraid so.” Erza found his voice soothing, almost like a lullaby. “Someone is bringing the statues in the cemetery to life. It's scaring the townspeople. They are too afraid to visit the graveyard and mourn their loved ones.”

“This is serious, indeed. Is there anything else you could tell us? Do you know who this person is?”

“Unfortunately, I do. Her name is Ava. Ava Ridenour.” His face saddened as he spoke her name. The Raijinshuu perked up, intrigued that their client knows the culprit personally, their eyes narrowing to take in every detail of the exchange. “She used to be such a pleasant girl. Now, she spends her days terrorizing the villagers.”

“What caused her to change?”

“I cannot say. It just happened so suddenly, no one expected it.”

“Why is this Ava causing trouble in your cemetery?” Erza's voice grew stern, demanding information. She hated only knowing part of the big picture. When he told her he was unsure of her motives, she grew angry. Taking a deep breath, she ushered the Raijinshuu outside.

 

“Did you really buy all that?” Bickslow whispered skeptically. Even he sensed something was off about their client.

“Of course not,” Erza replied defensively, her arms folded across her chest. “But for now, we have to believe this is all he knows.”

Tama eyed Erza cautiously. Something was off about the client alright, but something was off about the fiery redhead as well. She seemed different from the moment they reached the cabin, but Tama had already said enough and decided to keep her suspicions to herself, for now. She pulled Freed aside and whispered so the others would not hear. “Do you trust this client?”

“I'm not sure, Dear Sister. For now we should trust his intel and investigate ourselves.”

“Alright.” She and Freed returned to the others. Bickslow was relieved, as he had been stuck in the middle of Erza and Evergreen scuffling again.

“Goodness, ladies. Let's get to the graveyard and get this over with,” Freed sighed.

 

“Whoah!” Bickslow stopped dead in his tracks when the cemetery was in view. “Do you feel that?!”

“No, what's wrong, Bicks?” Tama turned to see him visibly disturbed, his muscles twitching, his eyes transfixed on the burial ground.

“So many souls. So much magical energy! Oh, baby, it's giving me shivers!”

“Shivers! Shivers!” his totems chanting only made him shudder worse.

“There's definitely a strong magical aura here,” Freed agreed.

“Perhaps this Ava is a wizard,” Erza added.

“Great. Now we're up against a mischievous wizard that brings statues to life, surrounded by lost souls.” Evergreen was less than keen on taking another step towards the graveyard. Seeing Bickslow rattled was enough to make anyone head for home in an instant.

“Afraid of evergreens _and_ ghosts now, Evergreen?”

“Shut up, Titania!”

Tama reached her breaking point with this match up. “Enough!” She shouted, attempting to quell the incessant bickering between the two Fairies. Unfortunately, she yelled loud enough that her voice echoed among the headstones in the distance. A hush fell over them as the ground beneath their feet began to rumble.

“Uh... oh....”

Below their feet, the earth trembled and shook. In an instant, the ground split between them, a deep chasm quickly distancing the wizards from one another.

“Who's in my graveyard?” A confident, sinister voice rose above the sounds of the crumbling earth.

“You gave away our position!” Evergreen angrily whispered to Tama.

“You have no room to talk!” Erza scolded back to Evergreen.

“Both of you! If not for Tama, _you_ would have exposed us!” Freed grumbled.

“I said, who's in my graveyard?” The voice was louder this time, more stern. In the distance, they saw a young woman perched on top of an enormous monument. Her short, dark spiky hair contrasted the setting sun behind her. As she rose to her feet, her silhouette grew more ominous, the sunlight defining her feathery cloak, dancing off the metal lining her knee-length boots. She looked like a raven, poised to strike, talons extended, bringing death to those in her way. If she intended to terrify, she had succeeded.

Before anyone could speak, the ground released a great moan as it rumbled once more. Behind them, headstones shattered into dust, large chunks of epitaph flung through the air in all directions. Bickslow grabbed Tama, hurling her aside just seconds before a sharpened stone would have impacted the back of her head. Freed, Evergreen, and Erza darted around to avoid being impaled themselves.

Tama nodded gratefully to Bickslow before she stood uneasily, attempting to square her footing on the uneven earth. “Ava!” she called out, “We don't want to fight you!” Her comrades were puzzled. This raven woman had thrown the first punch, of course they wanted to fight.

“Oh?” the darkened silhouette chuckled, a low, terrifying chuckle that resembled the growl of a vicious carnivore. “But I do.” As her words escaped her lips, she clenched her fist, the ground beneath Tama heaving simultaneously. Tama barely rolled away before the up-heaved soil folded in on itself.

“That was close,” she thought to herself.

“What are you doing, Tama?!” Evergreen called out to her, confused by her teammate's actions. “Get out of there!”

“She's a geomancer!” Tama shouted as she stumbled back to the others.

“Now it makes sense,” Freed pondered aloud as they all stepped back from the trembling ground. “She controls the earth and bends it to her will.”

“But why did she attack us, baby?” Bickslow and his totems floated above them.

“Where's Erza?” Tama looked around but could not see the armored knight mage anywhere.

 

“You'll pay for that!” Erza's great, booming shout came from above. The Raijinshuu watched as Erza, requipped into her Black Wing Armor, pounced on the geomancer from the sky, sword drawn, swift and deadly. Ava let out a surprised shout as she sculpted the earth beneath her to shield herself from Erza's swing, then launched herself backwards away from the angry ginger.

“Thought you could surprise me?!” she scoffed as her feet met with the top of a mausoleum. “I don't think so!” Ava waved her hands towards Erza, a soft aura enveloping her open palms. Erza's armor began to glow the same shade of amber. The geomancer closed her palms, her fists clenched tightly, then wrenched them back towards herself. Piece by piece, Erza's armor followed the path of Ava's hands, ripping itself off of Erza's body painfully.

“What th-?!” Erza watched in horror as every piece of her armor was ripped away from her and reformed near the geomancer. Even her beloved swords betrayed her.

“Whoah!” Bickslow's tongue fell from his mouth as he gazed at the now bare Erza. Tama slapped his jaw, causing him to bite his tongue as he turned away. “Oww?!”

“Have some respect!” she shouted in his ear. “Erza! Be careful!”

“Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!” Even from a distance, the geomancer's smile was clearly visible as she laughed that same, guttural shriek.

“No!” Tama shouted to Erza, but it was too late. Ava repeated the motions from before, ripping the plating clean off of Erza's prized Heaven's Wheel Armor. “She controls elements! Your armor and weapons are made from the earth!”

“In that case,” Erza whispered to herself, finally understanding the extent of her enemy's power, “Requip! Clear Heart Clothing!”

Ava laughed again as she stood tall, prostrating herself menacingly. Thrusting her hands forward, both the reconstructed Black Wing and Heaven's Wheel armors lunged towards Erza, blades in phantasmal hands, swinging wildly at Erza, now donned in cloth and unarmed.

“Now's our chance!” Freed called softly to his team. “She's distracted!” Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen took to the sky, darting in different directions to surround their foe. Tama hesitated a moment, unsure of how to act with her entire team airborne. She decided to cloak herself and rush towards Ava on the ground.

With Erza busy fending against her own defected armors, Evergreen swooped into action, pelting their foe with a barrage of her Gremlin Fairy Bombs. The explosions had little effect, other than kicking up large amounts of dust around Ava, momentarily blinding her to the locations of the team. Freed flew behind the geomancer and hurriedly scribbled runes on the ground. Bickslow rushed to Erza's aid, his totems quickly assuming a line formation, hurling powerful slicing beams of energy directly at Erza's phantom Heaven's Wheel Armor, causing its pieces to sever and fall to the ground. With Bickslow's aid, Erza managed to deliver a swift kick to her Black Wing Armor, wrenching it from Ava's control, it too falling beside her other puppet armor.

Ava looked around, grunting furiously at this sudden loss of control. Leaping upwards, she channeled her magic, the earth bending and thrusting up along with her, creating an elevated platform for her to roost upon. In turn, she glared at each of the four wizards she could see. Wait, four? She glanced around frantically in search of the fifth wizard that had been present. “Where are you hiding?!”

“Wait, where _is_ Tama?!” Bickslow searched around. When he did not see her, he activated his Figure Eyes magic and scanned the area again, hoping to detect her soul. He found her cloaked near the base of their enemy's perch. He decided to keep quiet, trusting that she had a plan.

“Where are you, little girl?!” Ava's voice faltered as she screamed in desperation. Tama took a deep breath. She wasn't used to getting up close and personal with her enemies. In all her wizarding years, she opted for more stealthy operations, but given the circumstances, her only choice was to render their opponent unable to fight. She wasn't entirely sure how she would accomplish that, but she had to try. She gripped a ledge of the rock wall and focused on the wizard atop the plateau, channeling her memory reading magic.

“Nngh?!” Ava held her head, unsure of what was causing her such sudden, directed pain. “What are you doing?!” Clenching her jaw, she steadied herself. She had lost control of the knight wizard's armors. Her eyes stung from the dust of the one in the green dress. The green haired male had done something to the ground. Now this. She was desperate, but she wasn't going to lose. Drawing a deep breath, she turned to the wizard that had hurt her eyes so. “Let me guess. That sorry excuse of a man hired you to get rid of me, right?” Her voice was strained as she rubbed dust from her eyes.

Confused by the sudden change in demeanor, the team halted their advances, waiting to hear what she was going to say. “You mean the man in the cabin?” Erza spoke clearly, to the point, realizing she had never asked the client his name.

“Leith Easom.” The geomancer's face resembled that of their client's, both saddened as they spoke the other's name. Freed recalled the name from the job request form, but he worried there was something bigger going on. Targets didn't usually know who hired them by name. “That coward should have come himself. Of course he would hire mercenaries, again.”

“Again?” Erza was surprised their foe was suddenly talkative. Tama was so busy reading Ava's memories that she did not hear the conversation transpiring above her. As she discovered some valuable, traumatic memories, she gasped loudly. Ava was startled by the sound that originated so close to her.

“So that's where you were hiding!” Enraged that she had been ambushed by the wizards, the geomancer reached down to the ground, then thrust her arm up to the sky violently. The ground beneath Tama quivered, then stretched upwards, rapidly launching the now uncloaked wizard up into the air on a speeding spire of earth. The team watched in horror, blood splattered on the ground near the spire, Tama's screams growing fainter with each passing second.

 


	8. Chapter 8

The air grew thin. Breathing was more difficult with each breath. The ground below, her team, her adversary, all were out of sight as the tower of earth raced towards the sky, surpassing the clouds. With a labored gasp, Tama lost consciousness as she struggled to keep a grip on reality.

Down below, the Rainjinshuu and Erza were speechless as they helplessly watched their comrade get launched from their view.

“Tama!!” Evergreen's fairy wings manifested, lifting her up from the ground. As she drew near the spire, Ava laughed that malicious, growling chuckle. Evergreen was so focused on trying to reach Tama that she was unaware that Ava's hands were glowing. The angry geomancer raised her hand to the sky, her palm open and shining bright amber, her eyes transfixed on the flying fairy woman. As her hand aligned with Evergreen's position, Ava gripped her fist closed tightly. A mass of earth rose and surrounded Evergreen, stopping her mid-flight.

“Do you know what happened to the last mercenaries Leith sent my way?” The raven wizard snarled as she spoke, her voice dripping with disdain. The Fairies were afraid to ask, but Erza dared to press her limits.

“What?!”

“I put them under. Just. Like. This.” With a swift downward slash of her hand, the rocks gripping Evergreen were inhaled into the earth, along with the brunette.

“Evergreen!” the screams of the Raijinshuu resounded as they rushed towards the plot of ground she had been swallowed into.

“Ah, ah, ah.” Ava scolded, her index finger waving at them as if she was their mother who had caught them breaking a sacred rule. “You're going to have to choose.” Erza grit her teeth as she took to the sky, adorned in her reclaimed Black Wing Armor. “Silly Ginger. Haven't you learned by now?” The geomancer mocked as her left hand made quick work stealing her armor back, sending Erza crashing to the ground.

“Bickslow!” Erza called out, angered. “Get Tama!” As she issued her command, she dug her hands furiously into the earth. “I'll get you out, Evergreen!” Bickslow raced upwards, riding upon his totems, carefully dodging the boulder missiles launched towards him.

“Auuuuuugh!” A frustrated growl emanated from the bowels of their foe. With her hands busy, she found it hard to keep the Fairy wizards pinned down. Desperately, she flung the armor marionette towards Erza, her eyes darting between the red head and the masked wizard flying out of her view.

“What's wrong? Can't multitask?” Erza mocked the wizard, making her even more flustered. As the puppet armor prepared to swing mercilessly at Erza, it stopped dead in its tracks, its pieces falling to the ground lifelessly, her hands prodding deep within the earth for signs of Evergreen. She felt flesh, gripping it tightly she wrenched the entire body above ground in one swift pull. Evergreen gagged and coughed, relieved to be inhaling fresh air instead of sediment.

“Wh-what happened?!” Ava thrust her hand controlling Erza's armor forth, but it refused to bend to her will. “What did you do?!” Angry, she lunged forward but was stopped abruptly by a wall of light. “What is this?!” she shrieked.

Freed stepped forth from the shadows, sword in hand, a proud smirk plastered across his face. “Enchantment magic.” The angry geomancer pounded her fists on the wall of light. When it wouldn't budge, she thrashed frantically, finding herself fully encased within the Rune mage's spell. “There's no point in thrashing. This spell nullifies all magic energy and you cannot leave until I decide to release you.”

“N-no!” Ava continued punching the barrier, then attempted to channel her magic, but to no avail. Freed's magic was absolute. Once his runes were written, the rules could not bend. Defeated, she slumped to a heap on the floor of her cage.

“Are you alright?” Erza comforted Evergreen as she continued gasping until her breathing normalized.

“You saved me, Titania...” Evergreen's voice trailed off, surprised that her rival was the one to bring her back into the light.

“Of course. We may have our differences, but we are a team. I've got your back.” Evergreen blushed, turning her face away, afraid to show Erza the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Thanks. I- I have yours as well.” Erza offered her hand to her comrade, who gladly accepted assistance back to her feet. As the pair shared a heartfelt smile, Bickslow swooped down, jumping from his totems, breaking into a sprint towards them as his feet touched ground. In his arms he carefully cradled a wounded and unconscious Tama.

“She's hurt bad, baby,” he informed the group, daintily holding her to his chest, blood still spilling from many open wounds where the earth spikes had impaled her.

“Get her back to the guild, Bickslow,” Freed called from across the field. “Take her to Wendy. We will finish this here.”

“You got it, baby.” Bickslow jumped up, his totems rushing beneath him, whisking him away swiftly.

Erza turned to Evergreen. “You should go, too.” She flashed a warm smile.

“What? I can help here,” Evergreen was surprised that she was being shunned away.

“I know you can. But he may need your help more. Besides, you should have Wendy check you out as well.” Evergreen huffed softly, but she knew Erza was right. She felt weak after being buried, and if Bickslow ran into trouble, he wouldn't be able to carry Tama and handle it. Donning her fairy wings, she took to the air, rushing to catch up with Bickslow.

 

The communications lacrima turned dark, the image fading as abruptly as it had appeared. “The Magic Council is on their way,” Freed stated coldly. “Once they arrive, we should go finish up with the client.”

“Very well.” Erza was relieved that this mess was almost over. She was more worried about Evergreen than she wanted to admit, and Tama's injuries were nothing to sneer at.

“Your client, huh?” Ava asked, her voice full of sorrow. Now that she was caged, her demeanor was so contrasted, it was nearly human. “How... how is he?”

“What?”

“How is Leith...?”

“He seemed fine to me,” Erza was puzzled.

“That's a relief.” The captured wizard sighed, a faint smile brushed her cheeks for a brief moment.

“You seem genuinely concerned for this man,” Freed began inquisitively. “Tell me, what is your relationship with him?”

Their prisoner scoffed softly. “Of course he wouldn't tell you. He's my husband.” This revelation made Freed and Erza take a step back in their surprise.

“Surely you're kidding,” Erza found her words hard to believe. “If you're married, why would he hire someone to have you apprehended?”

“Bizarre, indeed.”

Ava took a deep breath before she spoke again, taking a long moment to collect her thoughts. “I haven't seen him since our wedding day. The ceremony was beautiful,” her voice faltered as tears collected on her cheeks. “That's why I've been here,” she gestured towards the statues that filled the cemetery. They were arranged in such a bizarre manner, but now it was starting to make sense. Near the mausoleum, two statues stood face to face, a third just beyond them. A line of statues stood beside each of the two center statues. A mass of smaller figures knelt before the standing figures.

Erza gasped when she realized just what the geomancer had been up to. “It's a wedding!” She gazed at the beauty of the arrangement, wishing her own ceremony would be orchestrated so beautifully someday. Along the edges of the ceremony, stone flowers stood tall and proud. The two center statues stared into each others' eyes, their hands locked lovingly.

“What exactly transpired to cause you not to see your husband?” Freed was also taken by the beauty of the scene, but he refused to fall for a sob story, lest it was justified.

“Right after the ceremony, the men came. Three of them. It was horrible.” The words caught in her throat, choking her, as she relived the memory. “No one recognized them. We weren't sure whether to let them in or send them away, but they barged right into the church. I had to watch... I had to watch as they murdered my father! Right in front of everyone!” Erza and Freed gasped as they pictured the gruesome scene. “I was helpless. I didn't have magic then. They slit his throat, and walked away like it was nothing.”

“Why would anyone want to kill your father?” Something wasn't adding up for Freed.

“I could only assume it was because of his money. Father was a skilled businessman, and it was no secret. Everyone knew we were wealthy.” Sharing her tale was exhausting, her head felt as heavy as her heart. “He.. he was all I had left. And they took him from me! After that day, I vowed to seek vengeance. I found a teacher who instructed me in the ways of earth magic. Leith wanted nothing to do with me. I learned who those men were. I-I hunted them down.”

“What did you do to them...?” Erza realized she already knew the answer.

“I found them at home. I-I destroyed them, in front of their families.” The weight of her transgressions were not lifted by her confession, instead, they felt like more of a burden, as if she had just realized how monstrous her actions were. “If you're going to kill me, just get it over with!”

“Kill you?” Freed's eyebrows quivered at the accusation that they were capable of such inhumanity. “Heavens, no. We were hired to apprehend you, not to kill you.”

“Surely you were, my family's wealth is still in my name. With me gone, your client could have it all, as my legal husband.”

“You seem sure that he was the one who hired the mercenaries that killed your father,” Erza interjected. “Why would you say that?”

With a deep sigh, Ava opened her lips to speak. However, she was interrupted by the arrival of a small task force of Rune Knights, led by Lahar. The Knights surrounded the barrier Freed had created, staves pointed towards the prisoner. Lahar approached Freed and Erza immediately.

“We thank you for your service to Fiore. Fairy Tail will be in the Magic Council's favor for apprehending this murderer.”

“You knew she has taken lives?” Freed was surprised. He had been preparing himself to relay the details of her confession to the division commander, but he already knew. How?

“Indeed. We received reports of three wizards who had been murdered in their homes by a geomancer. Recent witness reports described a woman who used earth magic in this area. We were on our way to investigate when we received your communication. Unless there is another geomancer here, this is our culprit. She fits the witness descriptions perfectly.”

Lahar approached the trapped wizard, inspecting the barrier that was holding her in place. He gestured to one of his men, handing them a pair of magic-blocking handcuffs. “Go in and cuff her,” he ordered his lackey, before turning to Freed. “Once she is properly cuffed, remove your barrier so we may take her into custody.” Freed nodded, understanding that he should not oppose the authority of the Magic Council, especially now that they have garnered some favor for the guild. The pair of wizards watched as the Rune Knights led the earth mage to their wagon, locking her inside, then departing.

“I'd like a word with our client,” disdain dripped from her words.

“As would I.”

 

The duo returned to the cabin near Kunugi. After one swift knock, their client answered the door, a hesitant smile upon his face. “Is the job finished already?”

“Ava has been taken into custody,” Freed spoke flatly, his eyes searching the room for something they may have missed before. Surely there would be some indication that the two were a couple. A portrait, perhaps? Some feminine detail she left behind? However, the more Freed searched, the less he believed the geomancer's story.

“The townspeople are free to mourn their loved ones once again,” she grinned. Erza's face baffled Freed. They both had heard Ava's story, had been moved by it, were suspicious of their client's motives. However, now that they were back in his home, she seemed aloof, giddy even, to be in his presence. He continued surveying the room as Leith left to retrieve their payment.

Turning to Erza, Freed whispered, “What are we missing here?”

“The job is finished. Our payment is on the way. A murderer has been apprehended. As far as I can tell, our work here is done.”

Freed focused his attention to his partner. Something was definitely amiss. Erza's strong sense of justice was suddenly absent. He noticed something strange when he looked at her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, a faint, green glow encircled her deep brown irises. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?” the client returned to the room, a thick brown envelope in his hand. He held the parcel out to Freed. “200,000 Jewel, as posted.” Freed reached out to accept the payment. As his hand touched the parchment, he noticed a trinket he recognized from one of his reading sessions in the Fairy Tail library. Grabbing the envelope, he snatched a hold of Leith's hand, glaring at him.

“This is a charm ring. These are illegal.” Freed threatened coldly.

“A charm ring?” Erza's eyes cleared as she became aware of the hypnotic device. “That explains a lot.”

“Like how you were so taken by him, Erza?”

“Let's not speak of that.” Erza glared at Leith, who in turn snarled. “Did you use this on Ava, as well?”

“What's done is done. She is my wife. The means are of no matter.”

“Of course they matter! How dare you play with a girl's heart!” She clenched her jaw in anger. “Did you have her father killed, as well?!”

“Surely you jest,” he replied defensively.

“I'm afraid not. Now that we know you charmed her into marrying you, we have reason to believe you had a hand in this ugly affair,” Freed touched his hand to his chin as he put the pieces together.

“You've been paid, now get out of my house.” He gestured to the doorway angrily, expecting the wizards he employed to comply. He grew more enraged as they stood their ground. He rushed to the door and opened it, slamming it against the wall. “I said get out! You have nothing to incriminate me! No evidence! Your word means nothing! I could tell you every single detail and you would still never be able to do anything about it! Now, leave!”

As he spouted his own incrimination, Lahar rounded the corner, stepping into the cabin through the open door. “As I suspected. Rune Knights, arrest this man. Two counts of using illegal charm magic, and one count conspiracy to murder. You have the right to remain silent, I suggest you do so.”

“Wh-what?!” the young man thrashed as the Rune Knights attempted to cuff him, eventually losing to the might of the Knights. He glared at Freed and Erza as he was led outside to the Magic Council's wagon.

Lahar turned to the two Fairy Tail wizards. “Once again, I'm afraid I must thank you for your assistance. Your tip was spot on. We will handle this matter from here.” Erza and Freed watched from the doorway as he was led into the wagon with Ava.

“It seemed like she has true feelings for him,” Erza noted. “Do you think he felt anything for her?”

“It's hard to say. Those with evil in their hearts find it hard to truly love another. Alas, love is a curious thing.”

“I suppose you're right.” Her thoughts raced to memories of Jellal. She could see there was still light in his heart, and hoped that one day he would be able to overcome his own darkness, unlike this monster. Maybe, one day he could return her feelings for him. For now, she would have to focus on her own trials.

 

“Wh-where am I?” Tama opened her eyes, unsure of where she was. The last thing she remembered, she was choking on thin air high above their battle with the earth wizard.

“You're back at Fairy Tail, baby,” Bickslow's chuckle was a welcome sound.

“Baby! Baby!” repeated from his totems.

She looked down, finding that her wounds had been bandaged and were no longer bleeding. She noticed a small, blue-haired girl standing beside her shyly. “How do you feel?” the small girl asked.

Tama sat up and stretched. She was surprised there was no pain. “I feel great. Did you heal me?”

“Yes, with my sky magic,” she grinned proudly. “I'm glad you're feeling better!”

Tama had heard of the sky magic user. This must be Wendy. She hadn't had the chance to meet her until now. “Thanks, Wendy. I greatly appreciate it.” Accepting her gratitude with a blushing smile, Wendy scampered off to find Carla. Tama turned to Bickslow, who was perched on the next bed over. “What happened? After I was.. you know.”

“Don't worry about it. We'll know the full story when Freed and Erza get back, baby.”

“I messed up, Bickslow,” her eyes cast downward, her voice weakening.

“What do y'mean?”

“Erza came along to see how I handle myself in the line of duty. She saw how much I screwed up.” She looked up at Bickslow, sadness and fear tinging her expression. “What if- What if she expels me?”

“Oh, come on. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. No way she'll kick you out for that. Hell, she's done a lot worse.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, lemme tell you about the time she...”

 


	9. Airborne

As he pushed open the enormous double doors that led to the third floor balcony, Bickslow wondered if he had come to the right place. He'd grown bored sulking around the guild hall, sharing endless small talk with the wizards who weren't out on a mission, particularly the repetitious conversation with Nab Lasaro. Stepping out onto the smooth gray tile, he was nearly blown off his feet by a strong gust of wind.

“Whoah!” he and his puppets exclaimed as they were jostled by the wind. “Forgot how windy it gets up here,” Bickslow said to himself as he scanned the balcony. He turned around when he heard the soft clanging of the large bell in the steeple as it swayed in the sudden bursts of air current. “Hmm. Up there, maybe?”

Bickslow bounded into the air, his totems taking formation beneath his feet, lifting him up to the bell tower. As his eyes peaked the battlement, he found what he was looking for. On the far side of the tower, he saw her. Sitting against a column, hugging her knees, staring out at the sea, her green locks whipping harshly in the wind. His totems arched over the railing, bringing him to land on the balcony. Tiptoeing around the columns, he found Tama staring out at the horizon, her eyes both transfixed and unfocused, lost in thought.

“So, that's where you've been all day, baby.”

“Huh?” Tama jerked her head, wheeling around to Bickslow, snapping out of her haze. She had not heard him approach. “Oh, hi Bickslow.” He strutted towards her, flopping down next to her, tossing his arm playfully around her shoulder, as he tended to do more often than not.

“Why ya hiding out up here, baby?” She took a deep breath before she spoke, resting her head on her dearest friend's shoulder.

“I know, you told me not to worry about it, but I really messed up that last mission,” she sighed. Bickslow stifled a groan as it welled up in his throat when he noticed how upset she really was. He was used to Fairy Tail bungling missions, but she was still relatively new.

“You really shouldn't beat yourself up over it.”

“When you guys took flight, I hesitated. I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I tried getting close to her.”

“Huh. Guess I never thought about it that you can't fly.”

“Yeah. I feel like I'm just slowing you guys down since I can't.”

“What were you doing there anyway?”

“I was reading her memories. The things I saw were so,” she inhaled sharply, then exhaled, her tone becoming heavy, “heartbreaking.”

“Really?” he squirmed around to see her face, now adorned with blank eyes and a solemn frown.

“Having to watch her father murdered right in front of her, on her wedding day. Feeling powerless to stop the attackers. So many nights of crying. Her 'beloved' husband immune to her sorrow. Being completely alone,” a tear rolled down Tama's cheek. “And the guilt of what she did to those men. It was tearing her apart. She was afraid to face anyone after what she did.”

“Man. To be honest, I thought she was lying about all that. That's rough, baby.” Cupping her cheek in his palm, he wiped away her tears with his thumb. “But, why are you crying?”

“Heh,” she snickered, pressing her face back to his shoulder. “You're going to laugh at me.”

“Probably, but tell me anyway, baby.”

“When I read memories, it's like they are my own. Feels like reliving them. Sometimes, even in the middle of combat, I get swept by the emotions and can't focus on anything else.”

“So, your magic makes you an empath?”

“I like to think I was empathetic before using my magic,” she grinned defensively. “But, yes. With strong memories, they linger, and it becomes hard to differentiate them from my own memories. They.. they become part of me,” she sniffled, trying to collect her runaway emotions.

Bickslow pulled back, scooting around in front of Tama. After slowly lifting his face plate back to see her face unobstructed, he gripped her shoulders tightly in his palms. “None of that pain was yours. You're with us, we've got your back, so no tears.” As Tama sniffled, a small smile found its way to her lips.

“Thanks,” she sighed with relief. “However, I still can't fly.”

“Could always fly with me, baby!” Before she had a chance to respond, Bickslow scooped her up and leaped into the air, his totems catching him as he started to descend back to the rooftop, then raced upwards. Startled, she scrambled to steady herself, clumsily gripping Bickslow's shoulders, her arms in an awkward tangle around his neck. He grinned and chuckled wildly as her grip tightened, her eyes sealed shut as she buried her face in his shoulder. The last time she felt this kind of rush ended in pain, the all-too-fresh memory caused her to tremble. After a long ascension, his totems stopped climbing, halting themselves in the air.

“You can open your eyes now, baby.” Tama opened her eyes and was speechless. They were hovering high above Magnolia, wispy clouds sweeping beneath them. The city below was so small from their perch. In every direction, she could see for miles. The sea behind them seemed endless as it raced to the horizon. The mountains beyond the city limits, in all their majesty, stretched across the landscape as far as she could see. Everywhere she looked, she saw nature's beauty in a way she never had before.

“This- this is amazing!” Tama's head spun as she took in all she could see. She gave Bickslow a squeeze of genuine gratitude and a friendly peck on the cheek.

“Haha! Yeah baby!” Bickslow reveled in any attention he got from ladies, and Tama was no different. She blushed when she realized what she had done, then a shocking thought crossed her mind.

“Y-you're not going to drop me, are you?!”

“Did you want me to?” He glanced at her, puzzled.

“Oh heavens no, please don't!” she exclaimed as she struggled to establish a tighter grip on his shoulders.

“Weee willl,” came the singsong voices of Bickslow's totems, breaking formation. “Down down down!”

 

“Wh-babies?!” Bickslow's shout was cut short as he and Tama began to plummet down towards the bay, his totems laughing as they hovered above them. To his surprise, he had dropped Tama as they began to fall, leaving her to free fall just beyond his reach. “What the hell, babies?!”

“Bickslow!” Tama called out to him, stretching desperately to reach him. “Take my hand!” Reaching out as far as he could, Bickslow maneuvered his way to Tama, clasping her hand as they raced towards the water below. Terrified, she pulled him close to her, hugging him tightly.

“Damn it, babies! Get back here!”

“Bickslow? What do we do?!” Tama panicked. With his totems rebelling and her inability to fly, she feared this would be the end.

“I guess we're gonna die here,” his nonchalant answer only induced more panic for her. Her mind racing, she wondered, _would that work?_

“Not today!” She gripped him tighter as she closed her eyes, channeling her focus. She tried to steady herself, calm her breathing. She had never attempted this before. The water was approaching quickly. They were running out of time. Even Bickslow started to hesitate when he realized how close they were to crashing. Spinning, racing, spiraling. This was it.

Just as their bodies would have broken the surface tension, crashing painfully into the bay, they were suddenly uplifted. Bickslow turned to see something beautiful manifest from the fear of death. Behind Tama were a pair of grand golden wings, feathers tipped orange and brilliant. The wings flapped gracefully, the light reflecting from the feathers giving them the appearance of dancing flames as they carried them up towards Fairy Tail. Tama opened her eyes, startled at what her own magic had created.

“H-hold on tight!” Realizing they were flying by her own power caused her to lose focus, her flight becoming awkward and unsteady. With great effort, she guided them back to the rooftop where they had begun, crashing and skidding across the tile in a graceless mess.

“You alright, baby?” Bickslow rushed back to her side after landing a few feet from her in a tangled heap. His totems returned to their usual spot, hovering around him.

“That's,” she uttered breathlessly, “that's harder than it looks.” He could tell she had used a great deal of magic energy to make the illusion of wings real.

“But you did it, baby!” He cackled encouragingly. “Now you know how to fly!”

“I don't think I could do that again,” she panted, “not now.” Her voice trailed off as she flopped to the ground, lacking the strength to hold herself up. Bickslow realized she had passed out from exhaustion, her face melting into the cold tile. He grinned as he pulled her to him, resting her head on his lap to make her more comfortable. As he stroked her hair, his totem named Peppe began to speak.

“How did we do?” Peppe implored his master.

“Were we good?” Came Poppo's voice.

“Good? Good?” Pippi repeated.

“You were perfect, babies!” His grin showed his satisfaction with his puppets, who were under his control the entire time. He gazed down at Tama resting in his lap, and whispered, “You're stronger than you think you are, and I'm gonna help you see it, baby.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for reading. Let me know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

Many wizards were away, leaving Fairy Tail a quiet place. Natsu floated around the lobby, trying to quell his boredom while Lucy was at home in one of her moods. He noticed Tama working on something and decided to snoop. Tiptoeing carefully, he slithered his way behind her.

“Hi, Natsu,” she said flatly, not breaking her focus. Natsu deflated when his stealth failed.

“Aw, you saw me.”

“No, I heard you. You're pretty loud when you're trying to be sneaky.”

“Whaaaat?!” He stumbled backwards before he remembered why he had come over. “Whatcha workin' on?”

“Erza asked about some new armor designs. Had a few ideas and wanted to draw them out before things got busy around here.”

“Ooooh, lemme see!” Natsu snatched the sketchbook from Tama's hands and started flipping through the pages.

“Hey! Be careful with that!” Tama fumbled to get her sketches back before Natsu's roughness tore them up. She sighed in relief when there was no damage. “Phew.”

“Those are pretty neat. Think you can make me somethin'?”

“I could try sometime, sure.”

“Aweso-” Suddenly, Natsu got a whiff of something familiar. Perplexed, he sniffed around, following the scent to a small pouch on Tama's belt. “What's in there?”

"Huh?" She reached in and pulled out a glowing blue crystal. "This?"

"Whoah! That's pure ethernano! How'd you get that?!"

"It's a long stor--!?"

Natsu grabbed the crystal and popped it into his mouth. “Even tastier than I remember! Thanks!” Tama's jaw dropped as she watched his crunch her ethernano crystal to dust.

"Wh-wh-wha?! Natsu?! How could you?! You jerk!!!!"

"Huh?" Tama kicked Natsu so hard he sailed clear across the guild hall, getting the attention of the few stragglers present. "You jerk!!!" Tama ran out of the guild hall, her face flowing with tears. Bickslow and Freed were upstairs but had heard the commotion. They quickly made their way to Natsu and demanded to know why their teammate was upset.

"So you just eat something that doesn't belong to you?"

"Not cool, baby." They both socked Natsu, leaving him in an unconscious heap on the floor, and left to find Tama. They knew the crystal was special to her, they had seen her studying it from time to time, but had no reason why. They found her in her favorite brooding spot - on the roof of Kardia Cathedral. Her face was buried in her knees, soaked with tears.

"Dear Sister?"

"Go away!"

"Now is that any way to treat your family, baby?"

"Sorry... It's just..."

"No need to apologize. Natsu did wrong by you and you're upset. It's natural. However..."

"What's the deal with that crystal anyway?"

Tama sighed. She knew they would stay until she told them why it was important to her, no matter how long it took her to muster the desire to share. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to tell a tale from long ago.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days in Enkando were fairly peaceful, a stark contrast to the chaos that resonated among Fairy Tail wizards. The tasks were simple: greet the customer, figure out their smithing needs, gather materials, craft the object, and deliver it. On rare occasion, guild members would go on hiatus, mostly to explore the regions outside of their small town.

Tama heard rumor of a rare material in a cave outside of town. She and Kip decided to check it out. Kip was always ready to explore new places, but mostly because he wanted to obtain any and all crafting materials he could. The other members of the guild found his hoarding hard to deal with, as the guild warehouse was always crammed with seemingly useless junk. However, Tama enjoyed every moment with Kip, as he was her first friend after she had left home, and she understood him in a way no one else did. From his hoarding philosophy came the idea to run a guild devoted to the crafting arts, and together they made his dream a reality.

When they reached the cave, she felt uneasy. Something about the jagged entryway, or the blinding darkness just beyond, or the eerie sounds resonating from the depths spooked her. After a long debate of reconsideration, they went in anyway. Deep within the cave's twists and turns, they found what they had come for. As Kip reached for it, they were swarmed by giant, vicious bats. Tama awkwardly swung a sword wildly, while Kip summoned small bursts of wind that pushed the bats away momentarily.

Again, Kip tried to gather the material while being pummeled by the bats. They ran towards the cave entrance, the bats right on top of them.

“Run, Tama!” he shouted from a few steps behind.

“No! I won't leave you!” She stopped running, planted her feet, and held her sword up, shaking with fear.

“I told you to get out of here!” Light trickled in from the entrance, but the bats were closing in, and fast. All of a sudden, Kip stopped running.

“What are you doing, Kip?! Come on!” But he didn't run. He just stood there, as if in a trance. “Kip?! RUN!” He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His arms circled from his sides, to above his head. Then, he pushed his arms out in front of him in a violent thrust, expelling strong wind magic from his palms. The force of the blast knocked Tama off her feet, sending her tumbling towards the open air. She struggled to steady herself, finally skidding to a stop when she grabbed hold of a large boulder.

Jolting back towards the cave, she watched in horror as the bats caught up to Kip. They swarmed around him furiously, biting and clawing at him. In their fury, they tore Kip apart, his pained screams only lasting a moment. When the bats retreated to the depths of the cave, she saw that there was nothing left of her dearest friend, other than blood spattered on the ground and his bag, its strap shredded and its contents leaking out into the rapidly drying bloodstain. She looked down to see a glimmering blue crystal at her feet; the item they came for. She carefully picked it up, her hand trembling, and as she stared at it, she burst into angry tears.

“No! This is not what I wanted! Kip....!” She pulled her arm back to throw the crystal, but stopped, and held it close to her heart. “No, I can't,” she sighed, "I'll never forget...”

She kept the crystal with her always. It reminded her both of her dear friend and of the consequences of distrusting her instincts. She returned to her guild, broken-hearted and lethargic. Enkando's other members mourned Kip but moved on while Tama wallowed in guilt. Eventually, the members decided to leave the guild to pursue different ventures now that their leader refused to join their adventures.

One by one, Tama watched as her friends left. She was saddened to see them go, but no sadness could parallel the loss of Kip. He was the one who was there when she needed someone the most. And how did she repay him? By letting him die. The day finally came when the last member departed, and Tama found herself all alone, their guild hall nothing but a shell now that there was no trace of the family that occupied it for years.

She decided to disband Enkando for good, selling all the guild's possessions and the guildhall itself. It was finally time to move forward. She spent years hating herself for what happened to Kip, but being alone made her realize she needed other people.

Rumors of a great wizard guild reached her small town. She decided to travel south to Magnolia to see for herself just how great this guild really was.

 

“So, that's why the crystal was so special to you,” Freed said after Tama had finished her story, unable to hide passionate tears.

“I wanted to remember him, and that day.” Bickslow could see tears forming in her eyes as she spoke.

“C'mon, Baby! It's time to move on. You've got us now.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder playfully, coaxing a weak smile out of her.

“What he means, dear sister, is that you've carried this guilt long enough. You are allowed to move forward. Your friend will always be with you. You don't need a trinket to remember him.”

She sat with them for a while, considering what Freed and Bickslow had said. She realized that they were right. It had been years since Kip had died. He was her family, but she had a new one now. Slipping her arm behind Bickslow and Freed, she pulled them close for a surprise group hug. “Thanks guys. I'm glad I have you both around.”

“Always, dear sister.”

“You bet, Baby!”


	11. Chapter 11

“Maaaaaaan! I'm so bored! Why aren't we getting any jobs?” Bickslow groaned as he stretched out on a bench on the second floor balcony of Fairy Tail. His totems drifted around him lethargically, chanting “booored... boooooored....”

“Natsu and Gray have been snatching up all the jobs as soon as they hit the request board,” Tama pointed out cheerfully.

“Ugh, why are they being so damn greedy?”  
“They probably had some restaurant bills to pay off. Have you seen those guys eat?”

“Yeeeeeeeeeah. I gotta eat too!”

“If you're that hungry, I could make you something.”

“Maybe later, baby.”

“Want to go do some training? Might help your boredom.”

“Naaaah. Not feelin' it right now.”

“Cheer up, Bicks. It's not so bad being here. It's kind of nice to have some downtime. Besides, I feel pretty drained.”

“Yeah. Being used to power some other world really takes it outta ya.”

“I'm glad the others were able to handle that Edolas mess. It's all so surreal. Do you really believe we were stuck in a lacrima?”

“Eh. I don't think they'd lie about something that big. And I'm usually not this tired, so yeah.”

“Seems like we aren't the only ones out of commission.”

“You're right. Looks like everyone but Natsu and Gray are here.”

“I've been meaning to ask, what's the deal with those two? They're always at each others' throats but then the next moment they are the best of friends.”

“Well, you know what they say about fire and ice.”

“What's that?”

“They're hot then they're cold! Ha!”

“That was lame and you know it. Haha.”

“Well, they're certainly passionate about their feelings, whatever they may be.”

“Do you think there's something going on?”

“Could be, but they're too stubborn to admit it.”

“That's for sure. They would be really cute together.”

“Cute? More like steamy.”

“Okay, let's not take this too far.. I really don't want to picture that.”

“Too late.”

“Ugh!”

Bickslow cackled as Tama's face cycled through shades of pink and bright red. He could tell she was struggling to get thoughts of Natsu and Gray out of her head. Hopping to his feet, he put his arm around her shoulder and walked to the railing of the balcony, pulling her alongside him.

“Let's see, who else....”

“Huh?”

“Who else is hiding their heart's desires? Oh! I know!”

“Are we really doing this now?”

“You're damn right we are!”

“Ha! Alright.” Scoping out the wizards seated at the tables below, Tama pointed to where Gajeel and Levy were sitting. She had her nose buried deep within a book, other texts strewn about the table. Gajeel sat across from her silently, trying to act tough but visibly impressed by her work ethic. “What about those two?”

“That's exactly what I was thinking, baby.”

“Have they always been like this?”

“He hasn't been here that long. Oh, you weren't here when he joined.”

“What happened? How did they meet?”

“He was actually hired to take her out.”

“He was hired to take her on a date?”

“No, take her out as in attack her.”

“Oh my. Did he..?”

“Yeah. It wasn't pretty. But later he actually saved her from Laxus.”

“Wait, Laxus? I thought he was on our side. Now I'm confused...”

Bickslow sighed, “Yeah, it's pretty complicated. Laxus was an ass for a while. He's better now.”

“I'm not so sure I want to meet him.”

“Eh, he's not so bad. He's better now. Not to mention Freed is crazy about him. Anyway, so now those two are in looooooove but won't tell each other.”

“It's a real shame. If he did, those other two would leave Levy alone,” she said as she pointed to Jet and Droy, who were sitting at the next table from Levy, watching her. “They are a bit creepy.”

“Really? 'Tama the Night Terror'*, afraid of Jet and Droy? That's a laugh.”

“Ha ha, very funny. They're just always all over her and it's pretty clear that she wants nothing to do with them in that way.”

“You gonna do something about it?”

“Think we could get Levy and Gajeel to get together?”

“Now there's an idea.”

“Hmm, now how to do it? I wonder...” Tama used her memory reading on Levy to see what bothers her. To her surprise, Levy does not like bugs. “That might work.”

“Hmm?”

Tama channeled her illusion magic, creating a phantom centipede the size of Levy's book. She directed the illusion to crawl along their table and up the spine of the book in Levy's hand.

“EEEK!” Levy shrieked when she noticed the creature, throwing her book across the table, unintentionally smacking Gajeel right in the face with it.

“The hell?!” Gajeel sprung to his feet, but when he saw the centipede, he started smashing at it with his iron dragon club arm. “The hell is that?!” Swinging wildly at the bug, he ended up shredding the book it was crawling on. “Alright, who did that?!” He glanced accusingly at the Fairies around him. Tama and Bickslow ducked beneath the banister, giggling at the commotion.

“Aww, man.” Levy picked up the tattered book, the cover barely held together by loose stitches, shredded pages falling to the floor.

Gajeel stopped roughing up nearby wizards, noticing the distress on her face. “Uhh.... sorry...?”

“That was a good one, too.”

“Umm..... can I... make it up to you..?”

 

Tama and Bickslow poked their heads up above the banister to see Gajeel leading Levy outside.

“Yeah, baby!”

“It worked!” They shared an enthusiastic high five, then scanned the room of confused wizards.

“Alright, who's next?”

“I'm not sure we should do that again.”

“Party pooper. That was great, seeing Gajeel afraid of a bug.”

“I didn't mean for him to be afraid of it. Haha.”

“What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who do you have your eyes on, baby?”

“Umm... I uhh.. haven't had my eyes on anyone.”

“Oh come on, you can tell me!”

“I mean it. I really haven't thought of anyone that way.”

“What about Elfman? He's such a maaaaaan!”

Tama blushed before blurting out, “No thanks!”

“Hahaha! Don't worry little Tammy, we'll find someone for you.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“Don't you wanna have someone hold you tight and love up on you? Make you feel like a princeeesssss?”

“Not really. I don't think I'd like being treated like royalty.” Tama sighed, shaking her head.

“Well, what do you want, then?”

“I don't know. I guess... I'd want someone I could have fun with.”

“Haha! Well, we had fun, didn't we? What about me?”

“What?”

“I could be your knight in shining armor, haha!”

“Haha, I'm flattered, but wouldn't that make working together a bit... difficult?”

“Who knows. Could be fun though.”

Tama blushed. Was he really propositioning her? Bickslow was by far her best friend in the guild. She found herself silently checking him out. He certainly was a lot of fun, and he was handsome, even with his crazy hair. Actually, she loved when he took his helmet off. She liked playfully running her fingers through that wild mohawk. _Oh god!_ She looked away quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed her turning bright crimson. She was really considering this!

“What's wrong, baby?” He noticed her covering her face. Gently putting his hand on her shoulder, he turned her around to face him again. His hand traced her shoulder, finding its way up the back of her neck, continuing on up through her hair. He pinched her headband between his fingers, slowly pulling the ribbon from her hair, letting her locks fall freely. Grabbing the ends of the ribbon, one in each hand, he lowered it behind her waist. In one swift motion, he pulled her towards him, their hips pressing together, his face just inches from hers.

Her heart was pounding. What was happening? Why was this so.. exciting? Even through the face plate of his helmet, she could see his eyes looking directly into hers. Could he see how flustered she was? She was speechless.

He leaned in, whispering in her ear. “Too bad you're not interested. I think you're pretty cute.” He slid the ribbon up, draping it behind her neck, letting it rest on her shoulders. He slowly turned and walked away, his totems lingering behind him.

She felt her heart throbbing in her chest, standing there frozen, unable to take her eyes off of Bickslow as he rounded the corner for the stairs. “Wh-what just happened...?” she whispered to herself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Bickslow nicknamed Tama “Night Terror” because of her abilities to read memories and use what she discovers to create illusions based on the target's fear.


	12. Chapter 12

Her heart was still racing as Bickslow descended out of her sight. It took a long moment for her to collect her thoughts and return to the reality that she was standing alone in the Fairy Tail guild hall, staring blankly at an empty set of stairs. Shaking her head, she shrugged off the last of the scenario that had played through her mind.

“No, that can't happen,” she sighed to herself. “That's a very bad idea to get involved.” Her voice trailed off as she continued to converse with herself, her thoughts leaking out into the world without her knowledge.

“Uhhh, Tama? Are you okay?”

“Huh?!” The sudden voice startled her, causing her to jolt. She turned around to see Gray standing just a few steps away, his face contorted in bewilderment. “Holy hell, Gray. I thought you were out on a job.”

“And I'm back. Bit worried about you, though. You were talking to yourself.”

“Oh, it's nothing.” She blushed as she forced a smile. “Everything's fine.”

“Alright. See ya later.” Gray gave a slight nod as he continued on his way. Once he had rounded the corner, she leaned against the wall, a sigh of relief escaping her lips.

“Get it together, Tama. Dating a teammate would be a very bad idea. Even if he is...” She caught herself before her mind wandered again, giving her cheeks a light slap to snap back to the real world. “No! He's your best friend, don't ruin that. Don't bring drama to the team.” She kept repeating the words in her head, her new mantra. _Don't ruin it._

She had spent long enough giving herself a pep talk and finally decided to rejoin the guild downstairs. After a quick scan of the lobby, she saw that Bickslow had left the guild hall, along with the rest of her team. The scene between Gajeel and Levy had thinned out the stragglers, many of whom scurried away to avoid becoming his punching bag. With the guild quieted, Tama decided to take a stroll around Magnolia, taking the opportunity to enjoy the sunny weather.

As she stepped out into the bright midday sunlight, she glanced down the cobblestone road she usually followed on her way home. _Not today._ Today called for something new. She turned the opposite direction and started shuffling her feet down the new path, her eyes glued to the ground before her feet. A ways down the road, she turned to head down a side street that seemed promising. Not long after, she was very glad she had deviated in that particular direction, for she stumbled upon a treasure. Between two large apartment buildings, a tiny plot of earth laid before her, almost completely hidden from the road by overgrowth and vines. Carefully brushing the vines aside, she found herself immersed in something otherworldly. Stretching as far as she could see beneath a vivid green canopy was an incredible garden, in full bloom of every color imaginable. Everywhere she turned, flowers reached for the sky, their petals spread wide, demanding their beauty to be seen. A small trail wound its way around bushes and shrubs, more flowers dotted the path. The air was overflowing with the sweet smell of nectar.

Following the path, Tama found herself beneath a massive willow tree, one so large it shaded almost half of the garden. “What a majestic tree,” she uttered to herself as she examined the long sweeping branches that gently swayed in the wind, the soft rustling washing a sense of calmness over her. “What a beautiful place.” Near the base of the willow, she carefully sat down upon the soft grass, being mindful not to crumple any flowers growing there by mistake. She set her satchel down beside her, reaching in and withdrawing a small black book full of blank pages and a simple wooden pencil. As she leaned back upon the trunk of the mighty willow, she began scribbling sketches of the view before her, the flowers, the foliage, the wispy clouds that crawled along the horizon. Everything about this spot captivated her, inspiring her to capture it on paper.

Hours passed as she scratched her pencil across the blank pages of her book, stopping only to refresh the sharpness of the graphite tip with her pocket knife, then resuming her drawings. Her hands grew tired. Setting her pencil aside, she daintily flipped through the pages to find she had filled nearly half of the book with drawings of the enchanting garden. When she had thumbed through nearly every sketch, something about her drawings caught her eye. _What?_ Slowly, she turned a few pages back, looking for the detail that had caught her attention. When she found it, she dropped the book on her lap and stared blankly at the page. _When did I draw this?_

Scribbled across the page was a detailed image of a person's face. It wasn't just any face. It was one she had seen before. One she was very familiar with. She sighed as she stared at the page, tracing her fingers along the outline of the masculine features. Her fingers made their way to a jagged hairline where a wild mop of hair rested. His eyes were bright, a stark contrast to the dark tattoo scrawled across the bridge of his nose.

“Damn it,” she sighed to herself, as she finally accepted that he could not escape her thoughts. “Damn it, Bickslow.”

Time seemed to freeze as the face on the page stared back at her. She knew she had felt something for him for some time, but refused to believe it was anything more than platonic. Besides, she had never felt this way before. No one in Enkando had caught her eye, nor anyone she met in her years of wandering. Part of her wanted to find Bickslow at that moment and confess her feelings. However, she worried that even admitting how she felt would cause tension in the team she loved so much.

“No, don't be selfish. Just forget about it,” she reminded herself. “Don't ruin it.” With a heavy sigh, she knelt forward, packed up her things, and rose to her feet. Only then did she realize the lack of street lamps in the garden as the last glimpses of daylight faded away. She squinted towards the entrance but could not see the light from the road. Stretching her hand out before her, she channeled her magic towards her palm, creating a faint glow of soft blue light that illuminated her immediate surroundings. Once she found the path, she carefully navigated the garden towards where she had entered.

“Here it is,” she whispered as she reached the wall of vines she had passed through earlier. As she reached out to brush the vines aside, her foot snagged on a root she could not see. Stumbling forward, she fell against a plant with large crimson flowers. Golden flecks floated in the air around her, landing on her jacket and embedding themselves in the pores of the fabric. After regaining her balance, she ran her fingers along the hem of her collar, the golden specks coating her fingertips. “What is this? Pollen?” Shrugging, she stepped towards the vines, only to stumble back to her knees.

She rubbed her eyes. Her vision started to fade, the plants around her became nothing more than blurry splotches of color. “Why,” her muscles felt weak, too weak to keep her upright. She slid down until her stomach was flush with the ground. “Why do I feel so,” her eyes fluttered as she tried to focus, “so tired?” Unable to concentrate, the glow she was emitting faded, until everything around her was darkness. She could no longer keep her eyes open. No longer could she fight to remain conscious, and fell into a deep, uneasy sleep.

 

A loud, obnoxious sound above her riled her awake. With a sleepy groan, she awkwardly flipped herself over and stared at the sky. The sun was bright overhead. In the canopy above, birds were squabbling, likely over a morsel. “Stupid birds,” she mumbled begrudgingly as she rubbed her tired eyes. The light was too bright. Her skin felt cold. Her clothes were soaked through from the morning dew. Shivering, she continued to observe her surroundings, attempting to understand where she was.

“I suppose I fell asleep here. Didn't think I was that tired,” she held her head as she sat up. Her muscles were stiff, her bones locked and crunched as she stretched. As she brought her hands down to her lap, something powdery brushed off her jacket. She watched as the yellow particles floated to the ground before it clicked in her mind what had happened. Quickly glancing around, she located the plant she had fallen into the night before. Keeping her distance, she examined the blossom and realized it was some sort of poppy, but it had grown to an unusually large size.

“This must be the culprit,” she nodded. She recalled that poppies were often used in herbal sleep remedies, one of her previous guilds' best selling items. As she considered harvesting this enormous poppy, her stomach unleashed a loud, cavernous gurgle. She hadn't felt hunger like this in years. “This poppy will have to wait. For now, some breakfast, perhaps?” With a greater sense of delicacy, she maneuvered around the bright red blossom and through the vines, feeling relieved to reach the cobblestone sidewalk without covering herself in more of the sleep-inducing pollen.

As she glanced around the roadway, she realized she was unfamiliar with these particular streets. She decided the most efficient way home would be to fly above the rooftops to gain some bearing on her location. Taking a deep breath, she channeled all the energy she could muster to her shoulders, forming the wings she had manifested when Bickslow's totems had sent them plummeting. A faint smile crossed her lips as she recalled that moment, how relieved she was when their hands had clasped. Her wings took shape, their brilliant hue reflecting the bright sunlight. With a small hop, she flapped the great wings, but her feet fell back towards the pavement, the surprise landing causing her to stumble.

“What?” She reached her hand behind her to inspect the feathery wings, but to her surprise, her hand passed right through. Realizing she lacked the energy to bring form to her illusion, she dismissed the spell, sighing in displeasure. “Guess I'm hungrier than I thought. Oh well.” Gauging her position, she walked briskly down the street towards what she thought was the road she entered from. It wasn't long before she reached the main thoroughfare and could see the guild hall in the distance.

 


	13. Chapter 13

As she sauntered along the streets of Magnolia towards the massive building at the far edge of town, Tama was enveloped by the wondrous fragrances of the bakeries and restaurants lining the boulevard. All around, shops were prepping for the day, doors opening, wares being placed in windows, on counter tops, and in bins along the storefronts. The scent of fresh baked goods caught her attention, reminding her of how famished she felt. Still feeling weak, she slowly made her way through the steady stream of pedestrians filling the walkway until she located the source of the divine smell.

The heavenly aroma wafted out from a small bakery. When she made her way to the counter, a large banana nut muffin spoke to her, pleading to be consumed. After greeting the owner, an older woman with a smile wider than her face would allow, she purchased the mystical muffin and headed back outside to continue the trek to the guild. To her surprise, the enormous snack did little to sate her hunger, but it quelled her shaking muscles for the moment.

With her shakes subsided, it did not take long to reach the guild. The massive wooden doors were propped open, inviting members and potential clients alike to wander inside. Stepping inside, she noticed the lobby was emptier than it had been since they had returned from Edolas. From across the room, the violet-haired barmaid stood out like a sore thumb. Tama's stomach unleashed a loud groan, dissatisfied with the morsel it had been given. She shuffled her feet towards the bar, waving to the high-spirited barkeep.

“Good morning, Kinana. Could I get some breakfast, please?” She smiled at Kinana as she placed some jewel on the counter. Kinana delicately scooped up the money and nodded.

“Sure thing, Tama!” As Kinana turned towards the kitchen, Tama heard her name shouted from down the bar. Glancing up, she saw Mira, her face frozen in a state of shock.

“Tama?!” Mira shouted again, as if confirming that Tama was actually sitting there before her.

“Yes, Mira?” Tama was confused. Mira was staring at her as if she was a ghost. “Mira, are you okay?”

“Warren!” As Mira's voice trailed off, Warren appeared before them, panting and out of breath. “Tell the search party she's here!”

“Right!” Warren nodded, then scampered away. Tama heard him start to transmit the message via his telepathy.

“Mira...? Search party? What's going o-!?” As she attempted to understand the situation, Tama was nearly knocked over. Mira practically flew over the bar and snatched Tama up in a suffocating bear hug. After a long, breathless moment, Tama wriggled free of Mira's freakishly-strong grasp. “Mira? I appreciate the, umm, warm reception, but what's going on? What's this about a search party?”

“Where have you been, Tama? What happened to you?!” Mira's deep blue eyes were piercing, demanding answers.

“I fell asleep somewhere last night. What's all the fuss about?” She scratched her head as she tried to piece together the concern on her guildmates' faces.

“You were gone for three days!” She shouted, shoving a judging index finger just inches from Tama's nose.

“What are you talking about? I was here just yesterday. Just ask Gray, or Bickslow.”

“That was three days ago, Tama!”

Tama paused for a long moment, taking in what Mira had said. “I suppose that would explain why I'm so hungry,” she chuckled.

“This is no time for jokes! We were worried about you. We all were,” Mira's concern melted away with a sigh of relief. “At least you're back. Where did you sleep for three days, anyway?”

“It was somewhere east of the guild. I stumbled upon a beautiful little garden.”

“Must have been wonderful if you napped there for that long.”

“It really was something special. Oh! Wait a second!” She plunged her hand into her satchel, retrieving her sketchbook. “I drew some of it, if you'd like to take a look.”

“I'd love to!” Mira giggled as she took the book from Tama and started to flip through the pages, admiring the drawings scrawled across the pages. “These are lovely, Tama. Oh my, what's this one?” Mira held the page up for Tama to see which drawing she was referring to. When Tama noticed which page it was, her face flushed bright crimson, then she snatched the book away, shoving it back into her bag.

“N-nothing! That was nothing,” Tama stuttered defensively.

“That nothing looked an awful lot like a certain mage we all know and love,” Mira teased. Tama was relieved when Kinana returned with a steaming plate, piled high with french toast and bacon. She thanked her, not only for the food, but silently grateful that she had interrupted Mira's interrogation. As she stuffed her face with toast that was overloaded with syrup, the sound of rushed footsteps echoed from behind. She glanced up, still chewing, she felt another tight squeeze that nearly caused her to choke. Swallowing forcefully, she gasped for air as a pair of arms squeezed more of it out of her. “Hi, Freed,” she struggled to say as she ran out of breath.

“Dear Sister!” His face nuzzled her shoulder as tears of joy streamed down his cheeks. “Don't ever disappear on me like that again! We were so worried about you!”

“S-sorry! It was an accident, I promise.”

“Whatever happened?!”

“I lost a fight with a poppy.”

“A.... poppy....?” Freed looked puzzled as he released his grip.

“Yeah, there was this garden. I think the poppy was enchanted. The pollen knocked me right out. Had no idea I'd slept for three days, though.”

Freed shook his head. “This will not do.” He continued shaking his head, as if he was tossing an idea around but couldn't decide his opinion. “Nope, definitely not.”

“Freed? What is it?” She was almost afraid to ask what he was pondering.

“You'll just have to come live with us,” he stated with authority, his posture firm and commanding.

“Excuse me?” Tama was taken aback by the very idea. “Live with who exactly? You and Bickslow?”

“Precisely.”

“Do I even get a say in the matter?”

“Of course. But you should know, we've already asked Evergreen to join us as well. She's in the long and exhausting task of packing.” He sighed, “That woman has far too many things. She's been packing since yesterday.”

“Okay, so, why exactly are you asking this now?”

“For your safety, of course. And for the quick assembly of the team.” He flashed a wink in her direction.

Tama smirked. “Oh no, now you've done it. I can't say no now. You winked. That's it for me.”

“You've been spending too much time around Bickslow,” he sighed. “Or were you always this cheeky?”

“Who knows. You bring out the best in me, Big Brother,” she teased, tossing her arm around Freed as Bickslow would. “You're right, though. It could be fun to live together.”

“Truly?” He glared at her, gauging her sincerity. “You'll join us?”

“Heck, why not. I'll start packing now. Well, not right now. I can't let this amazing breakfast go to waste.” She turned back to her plate, taking a huge bite.

“You surely love that french toast. I imagined you having table manners,” he sighed, surprised by how quickly she shoveled the early morning confection into her mouth.

“You bet. It's my favorite,” she winked, finishing the last bit of bacon after dragging it through the syrup pooled on her plate.

“Do you require any assistance?”

“With breakfast? Nope, all done.”

“I meant with packing,” he groaned.

“I should be fine,” she patted her satchel enthusiastically. “Magic, remember? I'll get all my things and meet you back here later?”

“Very well.”

“By any chance, do you know anyone in need of a house?”

“I could ask around, but why do you ask?”

“Seems silly to have an empty house just sitting there if someone needs it.”

“Wait, do you own your home?” Freed was surprised, as she had not lived in the city for very long and had never thought to inquire.

“Yep. Paid it all off when I moved here.”

“Goodness. We might be better off moving in with you,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that, Freed? Didn't quite catch that.”

“Nothing. Best of luck with your packing.” He waved as he backed away and headed outside, giving Mira a nod as he left. Tama thanked Kinana again for the meal and bounded back into the sunlight, feeling reborn by the magic of maple syrup.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks to her enchanted satchel and modest lifestyle, it did not take long to pack up her belongings. She stood in the doorway, taking a long moment to have one last look at the place. The tiny dwelling appeared to be much bigger now that the paintings were removed from the walls, her books were tucked away in her bag, and the clutter that had previously “decorated” the place was now absent.

She decided to leave the furniture, though there was not much to begin with. A worn out wooden table with two matching chairs rested in the center of the room, equally tired cabinets held up a shabby counter top just to its left in what could be considered the kitchen. Just beyond the dining area, a bed much too large for the petite home perched upon a raised platform, with two shallow steps connecting the spaces. In the far corner, the door to the bathroom was wide open. She sighed as she turned to her right and stared at the wilted green couch that lined the last bit of open space along the wall. She had intended to have company here, and imagined her friends from Fairy Tail lounging about, their feet propped up on the stained pine coffee table. Giving the room a final scan, she turned and stepped outside, closing the door to her home for the last time.

Although it had only been for a few months, Tama had grown to love this house. She found solace within its walls when the action at the guild was too hectic. Turning to gaze at the sky, she took a deep breath before making her way back to the guild to meet with Freed. She would have gone straight to the Raijinshuu house, but she had no idea where it was. Her anxiety started welling up inside her as she wondered if it had been a good idea to accept Freed's offer without knowing what she was getting into, but she trusted her honorary brother. Before she could hesitate her way out of her decision, she closed her eyes, took another deep breath, then shuffled one foot in front of the other until she reached the welcoming doors of Fairy Tail.

Freed was waiting just inside. When he saw his companion waltz inside, he rushed confidently to her side, extending his arm to escort her. She chuckled softly as she locked her arm with his.

“Shall we, Dear Sister?” The warmth of his voice chased away the anxious feelings that had guided her steps thus far.

“Lead the way, Brother,” she teased, tossing a wink his way as he led her outside.

 

 

“This is where you live, Freed?!” Unable to mask the surprise in her voice, she shouted unintentionally. She took a moment to clear her throat, being more aware of her volume. “This is your house?”

“Yes, my dear. Welcome to the Thunder Palace.” He gestured towards the front door, a massive wooden door befitting of a palace. The door alone must have been ten feet tall, bordered by large stones that contoured around the arched door. Two tall stories of french chateau stretched wide, accented and supported by glistening white columns. Windows matching the arch of the door stretched from floor to ceiling, their stone borders contrasting the sandstone colored brick of the facade.

“You didn't tell me you guys lived in a mansion.” The words stuck in her throat as she felt uneasy. Freed noticed her fidgeting with the strap of her satchel.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes,” she gulped. “I just, didn't expect it to be this big. I'm used to my small house, remember?”

“I had not considered that, my apologies. May I give you a tour?”

“S-sure.” At her consent, he took her by the arm and led her inside, closing the door behind them.

The interior of the mansion was even more striking. They entered into a foyer, then into a spacious living room. In the center of the room, a grand area rug sprawled out across the deep cherry glossed herringbone floor, an enormous sofa and matching chairs were arranged around a fancy coffee table on top of it. The cherry wood continued halfway up the wall as beautifully beveled panels, topped by wallpaper with a gaudy gold, green, and red damask pattern. Everything in the room looked expensive, and more importantly, uncomfortable. Lining the back of the room was a long staircase that led upstairs to an interior balcony, dotted by doors of the same shimmering cherry wood.

“This is the seating room,” he stated as he gestured around the room. “Up there are the bedrooms, and this way is the dining room and kitchen.” He pointed to the right side of the room, where she saw a long dining table, surrounded by eight matching chairs. The kitchen was nestled around a corner behind the dining room. Tama's head was spinning from the sheer size and glitz of the house.

“This is quite a home you have here, Freed.” She was impressed, but it was almost too much for her. Freed sensed her discomfort as she continued to breathe it all in.

“Why don't you take a look around. There are many rooms, I'm sure something will strike your fancy.”

“Alright, thanks. I will.” Inhaling deeply, she gripped the strap of her satchel tightly. On the ground floor, she found herself in many rooms that she didn't quite understand the purpose of. Each room seemed stranger than the last, but then again, it had been over a decade since she had been in a home like this. When she made her way back to the living room, Freed was seated on the sofa, calmly sipping a cup of hot tea.

“Care for some tea?” Smiling warmly, he poured a second cup and set it aside for her. She carefully navigated around an expensive-looking vase, afraid to bump it, then sat down beside him, picking up the cup he had poured for her.

“Thanks, this is delicious.” To her surprise, the sofa was much more comfortable than it appeared to be.

“Don't worry, everything is just as comfortable,” he winked, as if he had been reading her mind.

“Since when were you telepathic?”

“It's written all over your face. You don't like it here.” A frown crossed his lips as he placed his cup and saucer on the table, crossing his arms as he settled back on the couch.

“It's not that I don't like it,” she sighed. “It's just bringing back some... difficult memories.”

“Oh? Care to share?”

“I used to work in a place like this, when I was very young.” He could tell there was something she did not want to recall at the moment, and decided not to push the subject.

“I see. Why don't you take a look upstairs? Perhaps one of those rooms would suit you?” She nodded thankfully, setting her tea on the table and started climbing the stairs. A few steps up, she paused.

“Where are Bickslow and Evergreen?”

“They should return shortly. He is assisting Evergreen with her.... belongings.”

“You seem worried, Freed.”

“She has many strange pieces,” he sighed. “She is obsessed with statues of strong men in the buff, and has collected many of them.”

“That's.... an interesting collection,” she giggled, suddenly feeling less strange herself. Continuing upstairs, she stopped before the first closed door and called down to Freed. “Who does this room belong to?”

“That would be Bickslow's. The second door is a bathroom, my room is around the corner. Evergreen has claimed the room next to mine, and the room at the very end of the hall belongs to Laxus.”

Tama nodded, memorizing the layout. “Thank you.” She continued wandering around the top floor, being careful not to stumble into someone's bedroom, afraid of what she might discover about her teammates. Judging by Bickslow's perverted nature, she imagined his room was plastered with dirty images and who knows what else. Shaking her head, she tried to remove that mental picture. That was not something she wanted to know about him. Turning the corner, she found a row of doors on either side of the hallway.

“I wonder what's in here.” Gripping the heavy brass knob, she gave it a twist and pushed the door open. What she saw startled her, causing her to stand frozen, unable to look away. The furniture seemed benign enough, but stretching across the wall was a larger than life poster of a blonde, spiky-haired mage, a lightning bolt shaped scar followed the contour of his cheek. A small table beside the bed held a half-empty bottle of wine, a long-stemmed glass, and a stack of magazines. One of the magazines laid open across the table, and a holographic image projected above it. Three wizards posed upon the table, three wizards she recognized from Sorcerer Weekly. They were from the Blue Pegasus guild. What startled her was that the holographic wizards were completely nude, and were quite...excited. Completely shocked, she blushed and ran from the room, slamming the door behind her.

“Nope,” she gasped, “That one's taken.”

From downstairs, Freed had heard the loud shuffling and slamming, and decided to come upstairs to investigate. “Is everything alright, Tama?”

She was still holding the door closed behind her when he noticed where she was. His face flushed as crimson as his suit as he tried to silently rehearse an explanation for what she might have seen. When he tried to speak, his words fell forth as a stuttering mess.

“I-I didn't see anything,” she lied, looking away from the rune mage, assured that he knew she was fibbing.

“Uh, uh, uhm, you see, there's a reason,” he stammered, cutting himself off by his own shame. He took a long moment to collect himself.

“No, no, it's fine.” She too used the silence to rid her mind of what she had seen. That was the first time she had ever seen a man completely naked, and she was not quite sure how to react.

“Before you judge me, there's something you must know. You see, I am not like most men,” he began. His formality confused her, as he had been a ragged mess just a moment ago. “I do not find women attractive. I like men.”

“Freed, I knew that already,” she bellowed, failing to stifle a loud laugh.

“Wait, what?” He scratched his head, confused by her sudden giggling. “You knew I was gay?”

“Freed, I could tell the moment we met.” She laughed so hard her eyes watered.

“If you knew, then, what were you so afraid of in my room...?” His voice trailed off as he wondered what she might have seen.

She coughed harshly, swallowing the rest of her snorting and giggling. “I wasn't expecting to find a naked man in your room.”

“A naked... what?!” He rushed past her, slamming the door open, half expecting to find his lightning dragon slayer sprawled out across his bed, waiting expectantly, as he had fantasized so many times. Instead, he saw the magazine projections dancing across the table, sighing in disappointment.

“Sorry to get your hopes up,” she winked, knowing exactly what had crossed his mind without needing to use her powers.

“Please don't mention this to anyone.” His shoulders slumped, his expression wilted and ashamed as he walked across the room and closed the magazine, making the holograms fade away. He flopped down on his bed and pointed down the hallway, suggesting listlessly, “You might like that one, three doors down.”

“Alright.” Taking the hint that he wanted a moment alone, she followed the hallway, carefully counting the doors as she passed them. “One. Two. Three.” She lingered outside the door, wondering what could be inside. Pushing the door open in one swift motion, she gazed in awe as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight that poured in from the large window in the middle of the room. The entire wall to her left was lined with bookshelves, from floor to ceiling. A large desk sat directly below the window, fully illuminated by the unobstructed light, a perfect spot for drawing. To the right, a large canopy bed filled the space between her and the wall. Through the window, a beautiful expanse of greenery and flora spread confidently towards the horizon until it met with a wall of mighty trees.

“All of that's ours, from the deck to the trees.” Freed had crept up behind her, resting his shoulder on the door frame to witness her reaction.

“What a wonderful garden. And this room, it's so cozy, unlike the rest of the house. No offense.”

“None taken,” he giggled. “To each their own.”

“Are you sure this is alright? That I take this room?”

“Of course,” he winked. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks, Freed.” Before she knew it, she was hugging Freed gratefully, impressed that he understood her tastes after all. As she pulled away, they heard the sound of the front door slam against the exterior wall downstairs.

“Hey, you guys here? Give us a hand with this junk, baby,” came Bickslow's voice as it echoed through the house.

“It is not 'junk!' Be careful not to break that!” Evergreen sounded displeased.

“Shall we go help them out?” Freed smirked.

“Sounds like they need it,” Tama giggled.

 


	15. Chapter 15

Tama ran to her room and dropped her satchel on the bed before she rushed downstairs just in time to save one of Evergreen's sculptures from shattering. Bickslow had tried to carry more than he should have, and the robust effigy slipped from his grasp.

“I told you to be careful, Bickslow!” Evergreen fumed, her palm glowing, prepared to launch a Gremlin bomb his way.

“Hey! You want me to drop the rest? Watch it, baby!” She canceled the spell she was casting, only after Bickslow danced around a corner.

“Now now, no fighting inside!” Freed rushed to remove an expensive-looking trinket from the crossfire while flashing Evergreen a terrifying glare.

“Oooooookay, I've got this one. Is this the last of it?” Tama tried to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. Bickslow and Evergreen seemed stressed, most likely from the move.

“Hardly. The rest is outside.” Evergreen pointed out front, where a flatbed wagon was piled high with crates, chests, and more marble statues. Tama sighed as she headed outside, selecting an overstuffed chest from the wagon.

“Oi, this is going to take a while,” Bickslow groaned. She hadn't noticed him sneak up behind her, and dropped the chest right on her toe.

“Ow!” she yelped as she grabbed her toe reflexively.

“Uh oh, you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. That hurt a bit,” she chuckled.

“Want me to kiss it better, baby?” before she could object, he swept her up and planted a wet kiss on her boot, causing her to blush.

“Th-thanks. Much better now!” She rushed to pick up the chest and hurried inside with it before he could notice how red her cheeks were glowing.

“Huh,” he scoffed. Assuming she was upset with him, he grabbed a crate and hauled it inside. The team worked late into the night, silently lugging Evergreen's excessive belongings upstairs to her room. When the last was carried up, Tama bid the others goodnight to unpack her own room before heading to bed herself. The mattress of the enormous canopy bed was so soft that she sank right in, falling asleep almost immediately.

 

Sunlight poured through the window panes, but the brightness is not what woke her. The smell of warm batter sizzling roused Tama from her slumber. With a stretch and a yawn, she jumped to her feet and sped downstairs, nearly breaking into a sprint to find out what was cooking. She usually didn't have breakfast, but the smell alone was enough to break her habit. As she rounded the corner, she found that Evergreen and Bickslow were already seated at the dining table while Freed was pouring the last of the pancake batter on a large griddle.

“Woohooo!” Bickslow bellowed, followed by a wolf whistle and a wink. “Jackpot!” Confused, Tama looked down to find she was still in her pajamas.

“Ah!” She thought her face would catch fire when she realized her short nightgown barely covered her. When she lived alone, she never had to think about what she wore in the comfort of her home. Tugging the hem of her skirt further down her legs, she realized immediately that she would need to be more mindful in the future.

“Aww, baby, don't be embarrassed. You've got some killer legs!” Bickslow's compliment only made her more self conscious. Unable to comment, she turned back and rushed up the stairs to change. “Wowza! What a view!” He couldn't help but stare as she ran upstairs, catching a glimpse of the flowered lilac panties beneath her nightskirt.

“Well, that was interesting,” Evergreen scoffed, her arms folded. “Give the poor girl a break, Bickslow.”

“What if I don't wanna?” Sitting back in his seat, he folded his arms and glared at Evergreen.

“Why do you pick on her so much?”

“'Cuz she's adorable, of course.”

“Give it a rest, Bickslow.” Freed walked in and set a large serving platter heaping with steaming pancakes in the center of the table.

“Alright, alright.” Bickslow groaned, then snatched a huge stack of pancakes for himself.

“Save some for the rest of us!” Evergreen snapped, grabbing a pair of dinner-plate sized hotcakes. As Freed calmly stacked his own plate, Tama returned, this time wearing a long tank top and a pair of olive-green cargo pants. Bickslow seemed disappointed that her skin was out of view, but he was quickly distracted by the breakfast Freed had prepared.

“This looks amazing, Freed. Thanks for breakfast!” Tama took the seat by her 'brother', mostly because it was farthest from Bickslow. She feared she could not hide her embarrassment if he hurled any more comments at her. Evergreen nibbled her pancakes silently, pondering as she noticed Tama's eyes flitting back and forth between their tattooed teammate and her plate.

“Hmmm,” she mumbled.

“What is it, Evergreen? Is something amiss with breakfast?” Freed's concern was genuine. He was very particular with his cooking, and if anything was off, he would have snatched every ounce from the table and prepared an entirely new meal. Evergreen shook her head, giving Tama a smirk before finishing the last of her meal. Tama was unsure what the smirk had meant, so she chose not to read too much into it. Despite having the largest portion, Bickslow was the first to clear his plate.

“Thanks for the grub, Freedie,” he belched as he stood up to place his plate on the counter.

“Put that in the sink, please. And for God's sake, don't call me 'Freedie!'”

“Sure thing, baby.” The unmasked seith mage winked before he strutted through the back door.

“Must he be such a pain in my...” Freed sighed, fetching Bickslow's plate and setting both in the sink to be washed later. “Ladies, Bickslow and I have a bit of a routine that you're welcome to join us in. After breakfast, we spar out back to keep our skills sharp. Enjoy the rest of your breakfast.”

When Freed closed the door behind him, Evergreen quickly turned her attention to the unsuspecting girl trying to soak up the last of her syrup. “When are you going to tell him?” Tama was startled to silence as Evergreen's piercing stare saw right through to her soul.

“T-tell who, what?”

“You know exactly what. Bickslow. You like him.”

“Wh-wh-what? Why would you say that?!” However Evergreen had figured it out, Tama's defensive tone confirmed it. She gulped when she saw the determination in Evergreen's eyes. She wasn't getting out of this one.

“So, how long as that been going on?” Tama could not tell if Evergreen was teasing her or legitimately wanted leverage. With a sigh, she attempted to stand to add her plate to the wash basin, but stopped when she received another glare and a head shake.

“Okay, fine,” she sighed, drooping back into her seat. “I've liked him for a while now. I wasn't sure what it was at first, though.”

“There, that wasn't so hard, was it?” She winked, her expression completely flipped now that she heard what she wanted. “Go tell him, or I will.”

“No! Don't... don't do that. Please.” Tama had not meant to sound pathetic, but her plea was exactly that. Evergreen just _loved_ when others felt pathetic, because it made her feel powerful.

“And just why shouldn't I go tell him right now?”

“I'll do it. Just, just not yet. Okay?”

“Very well. Don't take too long, though. There's no telling how long I can keep it a secret.” Tama watched as Evergreen joined the boys outside, dumbfounded by what had just transpired. Knowing that Evergreen would delight in embarrassing her, she had to figure out how to confess her feelings, and fast.

 

Needing a moment to process her thoughts, Tama decided to go ahead and finish the dishes before heading outside, only to realize she had no idea where they were meant to go once they were cleaned. Leaving them neatly stacked on the island counter, she joined the others in time to see Bickslow deliver a brutal punch to Freed's cheek, sending him faltering to the ground.

“Well done, Bickslow. Two out of three?” The shaggy mage extended a hand to his comrade, pulling him swiftly to his feet.

“You're on! I'm all fired up, baby!” Bickslow roared, puffing his chest up with pride.

“Goodness, you sound like Natsu.”

“What can I say, I'm on a roll today.” He brushed his wrist across his forehead, wiping away beads of sweat before they could trickle down his face. “Phew, that was quite a workout. Hold on a sec.” He winked towards the ladies, who were watching from the porch, then casually yanked his shirt over his head, tossing it aside. As it fell to the ground, Tama felt her palms get sticky with her own sweat. Evergreen chuckled when she saw Tama's cheeks flush the color of Titania's hair.

Bickslow wasted no time, lunging at Freed with fists flying. An intense flurry of hand to hand combat ensued. Tama found herself unable to look away, carefully noting how his muscles flexed and relaxed as he danced around Freed's attacks, taking a few punches here and there but being generally unfazed by the blows. She felt her heart throb in her chest, crashing against her ribs as Bickslow flicked Freed on the forehead, catching him off guard and sending him to the ground once more.

“Alright, I think that's enough embarrassment for one day,” Freed mumbled as he picked himself up. “Put your shirt back on, there are ladies present.”

“They didn't seem to mind. Are you sure you're not getting all hot and bothered, Freedie?”

“Don't call me that!” Freed huffed, scooping up Bickslow's shirt and tossing it at his face before heading inside to clean himself up.

“Alright, who's next baby?!” he shouted at Evergreen and Tama as he slipped his shirt back over his head. Evergreen smirked, then shoved Tama towards Bickslow, causing her to stumble down the few stairs between the porch and the yard.

“Tama wants to!” She cackled as Tama steadied herself, shooting a panicked look towards the devious blonde wizard.

“Just cuz you're a girl, I'm not going easy on you, Night Terror.” His grin widened when Tama shrugged and assumed a fighting stance.

“Alright, Puppet Master. You asked for it.” Without warning, Bickslow rushed towards her. Usually, she would have blocked or dodged his attacks easily. However, as he drew near to her, she felt her pulse race and her muscles stiffen. He was just inches away now, but her body refused to move, her mind was somewhere else entirely. His fist connecting with her shoulder brought her back to the real world, only to fall unceremoniously on her backside after the split-second contact.

“Ummmm... I think you're supposed to dodge that?” Bickslow scratched his head, trying to figure out why Tama had done nothing to avoid getting punched dead in the shoulder.

“S-sorry,” she whispered, rubbing her shoulder. He really hadn't held back at all, and now her whole arm was throbbing.

“You okay, baby?” He held his hand out to help her up. She smiled shyly when she was back on her feet.

“I'll be fine. Not my day, I suppose.” Although her shoulder really hurt, she tried to play it off. “I think it's Evergreen's turn now.”

“No way. After seeing him beat both you and Freed, I'll pass,” Evergreen snorted.

“You'd be all over me if I was _Elfman_ asking to spar,” he sassed. Before he could utter another witty comment, Evergreen launched a barrage of Gremlin bombs at him, catching him completely off guard.

“Watch your mouth, Bickslow!” She snapped, but he had not heard her scolding, for one of the Gremlins had detonated right across his forehead, rendering him unconscious. When Tama saw him crumple to the ground, she rushed to his side in a panic.

“Ah! Evergreen, what did you do?! He's knocked out!”

“Leave him. He'll get up, eventually,” she huffed, then marched away, slamming the patio door shut behind her. Tama hated the thought of leaving him passed out, face down in the grass. Slipping her arm beneath him, she struggled to lift him, as he was much heavier than she expected. _Must be all those muscles._ She shook the thought of those glorious abs and biceps from her mind as she dragged him up the brick stairs, carefully laying him out on a patio chair.

“Guess I have no choice but to wait here until you wake up,” she sighed, wondering how she got tangled up in this mess.

 


	16. Chapter 16

Tama heard the front door click twice, which meant that Freed and Evergreen had departed for the guild, leaving her alone with the unconscious wizard. Hauling Bickslow from the yard to one of the lounge chairs on the patio left her feeling exhausted. He was much heavier than he seemed. _Must be all those muscles,_ she reasoned. The soreness in her shoulder only made dragging him over more difficult. After she propped him up in the seat, she flopped into one of the chairs at the table to his right, resting her cheek on the cool glass tabletop.

“Going to sleep all day?” she whispered, wondering how long it would take for him to come to. Evergreen didn't hold back when she unleashed her Gremlin bombs, so there was no telling how long he would be out. With a sigh, she rose and sat beside him on the lounge chair, examining his face. Tama noticed his forehead was smudged with ash, remnants from the magical explosives. She reached out to wipe it off with her thumb, but as she cleared the last of the soot away, she found herself distracted by the smoothness of his skin. Her thumb traced along his tattoo, from his forehead, to his cheek, where her fingertips lingered before they traveled to his wild mohawk. His hair was exceptionally soft and plush, despite its heavy saturation of hair gel. She often played with his hair, but never like this. Never did she have him all to herself, where she could tangle her fingers through his mane and be lost in its comforting softness.

Her hand swept down his cheek, slowly caressing that wonderful warmth. Cupping his cheeks in her hands, she stroked her thumb along the contour of his lips. The sound of her heart racing deafened her, the world around falling into silence. Her face flushed with crimson heat as she pulled his face to hers, desperately wanting to kiss him. Just a breath away, she paused just before she could press her lips to his, then pulled away. She wanted him all to herself, just like this, forever. _No, not like this._ She wanted him to love her in return, to willingly kiss her back. Sighing heavily, she resorted to squeezing him in a tight embrace before scrunching up alongside him on the lounge chair.

“Wake up, baby,” she sighed.

 

Hours passed before she felt Bickslow stirring, his shallow breathing deepening. She realized she had dozed off while cuddling him, and carefully shifted upright before he was fully aware of her presence.

“Nnnghh,” he groaned as his eyes fluttered to adjust to the harsh midday sunlight. Tama mentally prepared herself to speak, resolving to just spit out her confession when he woke up completely.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” she giggled, trying to break the ice.

“Ughhh. What time is it?” He held his hand to his head, which was still spinning.

“At a guess, somewhere around noon.” Looking up to examine the sky, she nodded in confirmation.

“Noon...,” he moaned sleepily. Suddenly, he bolted upright, Tama's words just then registering. “Shit!” He scrambled to his feet and scurried to the door that led to the kitchen. “I gotta be somewhere! Shit, shit!”

Tama stared, dumbfounded, as he ripped the door open and ran inside. Just seconds later she heard the front door slam shut. _What? What just happened?_ Replaying the scene in her mind, she still did not understand it. She had been so ready to confess how much she loved her best friend, but as she opened her mouth to speak, he ran away, without giving her a chance to get a word out.

“Damn it!” she scowled to herself. Pacing nervously around the patio, she ran the scene through her mind again and again. “Damn it, Tama! This was your chance... and you blew it.” Frustrated, unsure whether she wanted to cry or to scream, she slammed her fist on the table, completely forgetting it was glass. Her hand continued past the surface of the tabletop, shards of glass rained down around her, drops of scarlet splashed the stone tile below.

“Oww, shit!” Once she saw the blood dripping from her hand and forearm, the stinging pain set in. Small fragments of glass that protruded from her skin quickly glazed over with the red liquid. “Shit,” she groaned. Rolling her shirt halfway up, she tightly wrapped her arm to slow the bleeding as she ran upstairs to clean the wounds. Extracting the glass was no easy task, but after she removed what she could see, she hastily bandaged her arm. _Now I have to replace that table._ She sighed as she realized the new living arrangement was not off to a good start. As she finished tying the bandage to itself, she decided to see what was going on at the guild before finding a new table.

 

When she arrived at Fairy Tail, she was nearly knocked over by the flurry of wizards entering and leaving the guild hall. Every wizard it seemed was rushing between Mira, the job request board, and the front door. After navigating across the lobby, avoiding the heavy traffic, she took a seat at the end of the bar and quietly motioned for Mira's attention.

“Good morning, Tama!” Mira sang cheerfully.

“What's going on? The guild isn't usually this lively.”

“Oh, this happens every year about this time. Everyone wants to do as many solo jobs as they can,” she chirped.

“Is there any particular reason solo missions are so popular all of a sudden?” Tama asked as she witnessed Gray snatch a job flyer out of Natsu's hand and run outside with it.

“Mmhmm! You'll see soon enough,” she chuckled as she nodded to Alzac as he hesitantly asked for permission to fulfill the job request in his hand. “Oh my, what happened to your hand?”

“This? Oh, I um, I may have broken a table,” she looked at her hand shamefully.

“Usually that kind of thing only happens at the guild hall. You should be more careful!”

“You're probably right,” Tama chuckled.

Mira reached under the bar and pulled out a slip of paper, then held it out to Tama, who looked at it questioningly. “This one hasn't hit the request board yet, if you're interested in a solo job,” Mira winked.

“Thanks, but let someone else have it. I need to go buy a new table, anyway.”

“Alrighty then!” Mira flashed Tama one last smile before she drifted off to handle the flood of job completion forms that piled up on the bar counter. Waving to the Fairies she passed on the way out of the guild hall, Tama headed for the shopping district.

Strolling through the market in search of a high-end furniture store, Tama thought she heard familiar voices echo down the street. Sure enough, she found Evergreen seated at an outdoor bistro.

“Hello Evergreen,” she waved to her comrade.

“T-Tama! Hello...” Evergreen seemed startled to see her teammate, but Tama could not quite understand why.

“That's strange. I could have sworn I heard Elfman's voice a moment ago.”

“E-Elfman? Why would he be here?!” Evergreen's tone had a tinge of panic in it.

“Dunno,” Tama shrugged sarcastically. “Eating for two?” She pointed to the half-eaten meal placed at the seat across from Evergreen, then to the plate in front of her.

“Y-yes? I was really hungry. Don't judge me!” The scowl on Evergreen's face told Tama not to press the issue. “So, what happened to your hand?” Her face softened as she asked.

“Oh, right. I _may_ have broken the patio table,” she grinned bashfully.

“Why on Earthland... nevermind. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. I'm actually headed to replace the table right now.”

“Tsk tsk. You know Freed won't be happy about this. ”

“I know,” Tama gulped, afraid of how Freed would react when he saw the mess... _Oh no! The mess! I'll have to hurry back and clean that up before he gets home._

“Well, what's done is done. What I want to know is, how did the other thing go? Judging by the time, I imagine it went well?” she winked, implying that she and Bickslow had kept each other busy.

“I didn't get the chance to tell him. I wanted to, I was ready to. But when he woke up he ran off before I could,” her face contorted in disappointment.

“That's... strange. I wonder where he had to go in such a hurry.”

“I'm not sure,” Tama sighed, sinking into the chair across from Evergreen. “How... how do I tell him?”

“Well,” she began. “The way I see it, you have three options. You can either be straightforward and tell him the next time you see him, or you can stay quiet and probably miss your chance with him. Bickslow tends to move on to new things fairly quickly.”

“What's the third option?”

“If you really want to get his attention,” Evergreen smirked, “date someone else.”

“W-what? How the hell does that help me with Bic-... with him?”

“Jealousy is a powerful thing, my dear. There's one person in particular you could date that would get Bickslow in a real tizzy!” Evergreen leaned in and whispered a name in Tama's ear.

“I-I could never do that! No, just, no!”

“Suit yourself!” Evergreen shrugged.

“Thanks for the advice, I think. I'll see you later.” As Tama rounded the corner, she swore she heard Elfman's voice again. Shrugging it off, she headed to the store she had heard Freed mention before in hopes of finding the perfect table, hoping her “brother” would not be too angry with her for breaking it in the first place. She found one she believed would fit the bill, and decided to have it delivered to the house tomorrow, instead of stashing it in her satchel and risk breaking the new one. _That's enough broken glass for one day._

Needing to renew her courage to make her confession, she headed to Kardia Cathedral to gaze out upon the city.

 

The view from the rooftop was always breathtaking, no matter what mood she was in. She felt renewed when she gazed upon the wondrous features the land around Magnolia had to offer, the mountains, the sea, the rolling hills. Even the city's architecture was amazing from this altitude, yet all of it was nothing compared to the view when Bickslow had whisked her away to the clouds. Remembering how comfortable she had been with his arms around her brought forth a genuine smile, as well as tinting her cheeks rosy pink. She didn't dare try to fly that high on her own, for fear of her magic giving out before she reached the ground again. For now, swooning over the memory of riding through the sky in his arms was enough to coax her to stop hiding her feelings for him.

Taking a deep breath, she poised herself, ready to manifest wings to fly straight home and wait for him. As she started to channel her magic, something in the street below caught her eye. Dispelling her magic, she scanned the streets again for the person that she had seen. She usually avoided watching the people below, being more interested in the landscape and buildings, but she could not shake her interest in this person.

A few streets in the distance, she caught glimpse of her Seith mage. She knew that blue and black hair anywhere. Following the street with her eyes, she located him once again. _What's he doing over there?_ She pondered as she tried to remember what the building he stood by was. _That's...._ She saw that he was not alone. Beside him, a short, white haired girl spoke to him. _Is that... Lisanna?_ She focused back to the building, trying to read the sign above the door, but it was blurry at this distance. She stared in horror as she watched Bickslow lead Lisanna to the side of the building, just in front of another door. That's when it hit her, that building was a hotel, and one with a bad reputation at that. Then, Tama felt her heart stop as she watched him pull Lisanna close, and give her the kiss she wanted from him.

She screamed, but her voice hitched in her throat, her lungs deflating and leaving her breathless. _N-no...!_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this far! Just wanted to let you know, I'm going to take some time to rewrite the early chapters and spice them up a bit, because they are admittedly lackluster compared to the later ones. I'm also going to be drawing a full color image for each chapter. This being said, it might be a little while before I let you have the rest of the story. Check back for updates, and thank you again for reading!
> 
> -Cae, 8-19-16


	17. Chapter 17

She shut her eyes as quickly as she could, slapping her hands on top of them to block out the view. Her throat clenched as she rubbed her eyes, praying that she was still asleep and this was nothing but a dream. _No, not a dream. This was a nightmare._

Tama heard rumor that Bickslow moved quickly in relationships, but it was easy to dismiss it as just that, a rumor. _Until now_. She cursed herself for waiting so long to tell him how much she adored him. Now he was in the arms of their guildmate. She had grown fond of Lisanna, and did not dare try to interfere, no matter how much she longed to be his.

Without opening her eyes, she turned and ran towards the other side of the cathedral roof, only looking as she stepped over the edge. Manifesting her wings, she bobbed through the air. Unable to focus on her magic between tears, her spell faltered, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground with a crash, scraping her hands and knees as she tried to catch herself on the pavement. It was a long moment before she picked herself up, drenching the sidewalk with tears. Her skin stung but she barely noticed, the searing pain in her chest monopolizing her thoughts.

Wiping away her tears, wincing as the salty fluid brushed across the scrape on her cheek, she stood and dusted her skirt off. With a deep breath, she slowly shuffled her feet down the pathway, unable to stop the slow trickle of silent tears that forced their way down the sides of her face.

She refused to go back to the Thunder Palace. She could not face anything that reminded her of him right now. Feeling hopelessly lost, she wandered the streets, completely absorbed in her own crumbling thoughts, oblivious to the strangers she passed who asked if she was alright.

As if by instinct, she wound up on the doorstep of her old home. In all the madness of the past few days, she had completely forgotten to try to sell it, and for that she was grateful. Turning the knob slowly, she pushed the door open with her shoulder. The dwelling felt so empty, lacking the things that had made it her home, but she was thankful she decided to leave the furniture as she sulked to the bed, sliding the blanket over her head as she buried her sobbing face in her pillow.

 

Meanwhile at the Thunder Palace, Bickslow returned home to find Freed perched daintily on the sofa, nose-deep in a novel. The rune mage looked up as Bickslow latched the door behind him.

"You're home early, Bickslow," he teased softly as he closed his book, setting it beside him on the cushion. "When you go on dates, I don't expect you home until morning."

"Mehhhhh," the seith mage groaned. "It didn't work out, baby."

"Did something happen?"

"Nah." He flopped beside Freed, causing the book to slip onto the floor. Freed stared questioningly at him as he picked up the tome, placing it delicately on the coffee table. "Well, things were going well, I guess. Took her to that place I like. Then she said something about 'the only way you're getting that is by marrying me.' I didn't know it was such a big deal, but then she slapped me and left."

"That explains the bruise on your cheek," Freed sighed. "Were you clear with your intentions?"

"She didn't really give me a chance. After she slapped me she took off pretty quickly."

"What a shame. I happen to like that place myself."

"Yeah. Best dance floor in Magnolia. That dude on piano is amazing."

"Is he playing today?" Freed raised his eyebrow, intrigued. He fondly recalled the first time Bickslow had convinced him to join him there. The hotel was terrible indeed, but the bar in the basement was delightfully pleasant.

"Yeah. That's why I wanted to go. Who would have thought you had to marry someone to go dance." Bickslow shrugged. "Hey, marry me, Freed. Come dance with me," he winked.

"Let's hold off on the nuptials, but I'd gladly go watch him play. That man is truly a musical savant." Freed stood and replaced his book in its slot on the shelf before turning back to Bickslow. "Perhaps Tama would like to join us?"

"Yeah! I'll go see if she's upstairs." He bounded for the stairs as Freed wandered around the house, tidying up before getting ready to leave.

He reached the door to Tama's bedroom, and knocked a playful ditty, then paused expectantly for a response. After a long moment of silence, he whispered, "Night Terror? You in there?" When his question remained unanswered, he gripped the doorknob firmly and gave it a swift twist, slowly pushing the door open. "Taaaaamaaaaa?"

He had expected to find her asleep or busy working on something, but he felt a wave of disappointment when he realized she was not home. With a sigh, he flopped back on her bed, making himself quite comfortable. "Man, what's with this day?" he mumbled to himself as he glanced around the room, feeling no shame for invading her privacy. Something on the desk caught his eye, the small black book she was always doodling in. Reaching over, he picked it up and carefully thumbed through the pages.

"She must really like flowers," he whispered as he flipped through page after page of detailed sketches of plants. As he was about to lose interest and return the sketchbook where he had found it, he stumbled upon a different kind of drawing entirely. He stared at the page and could not help but smile. The drawing was himself, and as much as he loved seeing himself, that wasn't what made him smile. Sitting beside him was a sketch of the jade-haired illusion wizard, sketch-Bickslow's arm draped over her shoulder. On her face was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He had always thought she was cute, but he had never seen her really smile like this, as if everything in her world was perfect, and that made her gorgeous in his eyes. He was a sucker for a real smile.

He carefully scanned over his shoulder, confirming that the room was in fact empty before he delicately tore the page from the book. Tiptoeing into the hallway, he darted to his room. With a victorious grin, he pinned the sketch to the wall beside his bed, admiring both the masterpiece and his handiwork in pilfering it. His focus was broken, however, when he heard Freed scream from outside. "Uh oh," he mumbled as he headed downstairs to investigate.

  
  


She felt like she was going to shrivel up once the last of her tears fell. Her heart was in pieces, but no more tears would come. Sitting up with a sigh, she shuffled to the kitchenette to find herself a drink, forgetting she had the water shut off when she packed up her things.

As she rifled through the cabinets, she was dismayed that she had cleaned them so thoroughly.

"I need a drink," she scowled, slamming the cabinet shut, disappointed that she had even taken her liquor to her new home. Reluctantly, she waddled to the bathroom to clean herself up, staring blankly at the mess she was. She slowly turned on the faucet, only to be reminded again that there was no water. Frustrated, she wiped her face with her shirt then stomped out into the street, heading for Fairy Tail. As she pulled the door shut, she cast a spell on her face to hide her bloodshot eyes, and her scraped tear-stained cheeks.

It was fairly late when she made it back to the guild, the sun was beginning its decent towards the horizon and the majority of the guild wizards were headed home to their families. Tama was relieved to see most of the lobby was cleared out, and to see Mirajane's cheerful face at the bar. As she took her favorite seat near the far end, she waved to Mira to get her attention, but the hue of her white hair reminded her of what she had witnessed earlier. Lisanna. With her Bickslow.

"Hey there, Tama. Why so glum?"

"It's... It's nothing," Tama sighed. She was not ready to talk about it, despite Mira's genuine concern. "Can I get a drink, please?"

"Sure thing. The usual?"

"No, something stronger. Much stronger, please."

"Coming right up." She turned and produced a tall bottle full of a bronze liquor and pulled a short glass from beneath the counter. "Rough day, huh?"

Tama nodded as she accepted the drink, pressing the glass to her lips and gulping the entirety of its contents in one swig.

"Another?" Mira asked, slightly surprised that Tama had downed the strongest whiskey they had as if it were water.

"Can you just leave the bottle, please?" Her voice cracked as she asked, but Mira simply nodded, smiled, then headed down the bar to bring Cana another keg. Tama picked up the bottle, considered pouring herself another, then opted to just drink from the bottle instead. Cana glanced over as she did and flashed her a thumbs up, before picking up the keg Mira had just delivered to her and started guzzling.

As Tama took another swig from the bottle, she noticed the wizard who was leaning on the bar next to her. Gray handed Mira a completed job request, then turned to Tama, flashing her a warm smile.

"Hey there," he winked cheerfully.

Nearly choking on her booze, she swallowed the potent whiskey painfully. She was not sure how long he had been standing there and she was suddenly self conscious about her drinking demeanor. "H-hi," she stammered.

"Been hanging around Cana, have we?" he jested, pointing at the nearly empty bottle, causing her to blush.

"I heard that Gray," Cana shouted threateningly. He shook his head and brushed off her passive threat, turning back to Tama.

"Your hand looks pretty bad. I think Wendy is around here somewhere. Stay put, I'll go find her." Before Tama could object, Gray had walked off and found the sky dragon slayer and returned with her.

"Oh my, that looks serious," Wendy pointed out then quickly cast her healing magic. Tama had honestly forgotten about her hand entirely, given all the other injuries she had incurred since, but she felt much better after having her scrapes healed. When Wendy finished, Tama thanked her, then she scampered back to Carla.

"Th-thanks Gray," Tama whispered shamefully, still embarrassed that he had witnessed her binge drinking.

"No problem," he winked again, grabbing her bottle of whiskey and taking a swig himself. "Well, I'd best be going. These jobs won't do themselves."

As Gray waved and turned to leave, Tama remembered what she and Evergreen had talked about earlier. "Hey, Gray?"

"Yeah?" She took another swig of liquid courage and a deep breath.

"Are you busy tomorrow evening?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading. Just wanted to point out that the scene with Freed and Bickslow was inspired by thearchangelofloki's "Hands" Fraxus piece. (I love your stuff, by the way Loki). Give it a read. You'll thank yourself. <3


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unintentionally long chapter, enjoy~
> 
> \-------------

She had spent the majority of the day sleeping off her hangover. The whiskey Mirajane gave her was stronger than she thought, most of its potency hitting her well after her buzz had subsided. With a groan, she sat up and rubbed her eyes, remembering she had gone to an inn for the night, not wanting to face her team at home. They had never seen her drunk, and given her swirling emotions, she was afraid she would do something stupid.

Then it hit her. _She had done something stupid_. Unsure if it had been her anger or just the liquor, she had followed Evergreen's advice and asked Gray out on a date. Scratching her head, she tried to recall their conversation from the night before, but the memory was hazy. What was it Gray had said? He turned her down, right?

"Oh shit!" Tama jumped up, flinging the comforter onto the floor. Panicking, she paced around the room, trying to gather her thoughts, trying to form a plan. _He had said yes_.

_It really must have been the whiskey_ , she thought to herself, still trampling the plush carpet. She had never been on a date before and had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do. Where did she say to meet him? "Ugh!" she cursed herself, frustrated. _Was it too late to cancel?_ No, she had asked him. That would not be right. She started this, she had to see it through.

Sighing, she flopped into the soft armchair near the bed. Finally recalling the details of her exchange with Gray, she was able to start planning. She had some time, they weren't supposed to meet until later in the afternoon. Gathering her courage, she hoisted herself to her feet and began her preparations.

\--------------------------------

As she sat on the riverbank, Tama took a series of deep breaths to calm herself. Running through a mental checklist, she ensured she had brought everything. She glanced at the large wicker picnic basket that rested on the blanket she had spread out, wondering if she had packed too much food. Worried that she would not bring enough, she had overstuffed the container, its lid unable to close. Reassuring herself, she recalled seeing Gray's ability to rival Natsu's appetite. Satisfied she had brought plenty, she wondered if she had overdressed for a picnic as she stared down at her dress.

She heard a chuckle from behind her as she fussed to keep the blanket stretched out properly. Turning around, her face flushed as she saw Gray's smirk. Surely he had already detected her anxiety. _Great start, Tama_ , she sighed to herself.

"Dunno why you're so worried about the blanket, we are gonna mess it up anyway," he said with a wink, his voice deeper and more sultry than usual.

"Uhhhh uhhhmmmm," Tama was unable to form an articulate response, as her mind wandered at the implications in his greeting.

"I'm just teasin'," he gave her another wink as he sat down on the picnic blanket. "How's the hangover?"

"Oh, umm," she composed herself as she carefully knelt across from Gray, tucking the hem of her skirt beneath her knees. "It's gone now. I feel fine," she smiled slightly.

"Well that's good. The way you were chugging it, I thought you wouldn't make it here and I'd have to go find ya."

"You would have searched for me if I wasn't here?" She was honestly surprised and her voice reflected it.

"Of course," he grinned, slipping his hand inside the basket and pulling out two sandwiches, handing one to Tama.

"Th-thanks," she stuttered as she accepted the morsel. Taking a bite, she took a long moment to examine her date. His hair was combed neater than usual, his usual t-shirt swapped for a form-fitting button-up top, the top few buttons left undone, his cross pendant dangling around his collar bone between the unbuttoned seams. Typically she would avoid watching him for long, as he usually ended up stripping. However, she was unable to look away, distracted by his handsomeness she had not noticed before.

"You okay?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"N-no. Nothing's wrong," she mumbled, wondering how he would react to a compliment. She had spent so much time alone that she tripped over herself far too often, afraid of overstepping boundaries. "I just... really like your shirt."

He smirked when he noticed her blush again. "Thanks," he chuckled. "This is really good, did you make this?"

"Mmhmm," she grinned, relieved he had changed the subject. "I hoped you would like it."

"If this is how tasty all your cooking is, you're gonna make your husband one happy man someday."

"Uhm, th-thanks?" Gray could not get over how easily Tama was flustered, letting out a hearty laugh. He clapped his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jolt at the unexpected touch. As he did, they heard a soft roll of thunder above them. They both looked up to find that the sunny day had slipped away while they ate, rain clouds filling the sky.

"That's weird," she whispered. "Those clouds came out of nowhere." Sighing, she stood to pack up their picnic in hopes of beating the rain. However, as she reached for the corner of the blanket, she felt Gray's hand on her wrist.

"Not just yet," he smiled softly, gesturing for her to sit back down. After she took her place back on the blanket, he stood and stretched, planting his feet firmly. "Ice-make: pavilion!"

Tama watched in awe as his hands glowed a soft blue, then an icy structure took form above them. She had only seen his magic once before, while they were on Mount Hakobe. This time, she witnessed his spell casting, admiring the beauty of the energy taking shape and freezing into place. As the structure solidified, rain began to fall, the air around them cooling significantly.

"Wow," she whispered as the glow faded from the pavilion.

"Hmm?" Gray looked slightly puzzled as he sat down beside her, closer than they had been seated previously.

"I never realized how lovely your magic is."

"You like that?"

With a nod, she smiled. "What can I say? Guess I'm a sucker for an artist."

This time, he was the one to blush at the compliment. "It's not that different from your magic, you know."

"Really?" She had never considered her illusions to be beautiful.

"Yeah. You can make whatever you want with it, right?"

"I suppose so,” she said thoughtfully. Taking a deep breath, she focused her magic energy towards her hand, then waved it slowly around them. Vines slowly crept their way up the columns of the pavilion, stopping just before reaching the roof. One by one, the vines blossomed with delicate white flowers, until the icy canopy flourished.

“See? What did I tell you? Magic as pretty as you are.” She felt her face flush at the compliment. _Did he just say she was pretty?_ As her eyes met his, she finally realized his sincerity. That look in his eyes meant he was not teasing this time, his smile soft and genuine. Fumbling with her thoughts, he leaned towards her, running his fingers through her hair, his gaze transfixed on hers.

“G-gray? I-I have to confess something,” she stammered, turning her face towards the ground.

“What is it?” His tone indicated he could tell where this was going, his smile widening.

“I-,” she started, but changed her mind. “Someone told me I should ask you out,” her voice was full of guilt, leaving him confused.

“Is that such a bad thing?”

“Wh-what I mean is, there's... there's someone I like, but they like someone else.” She sighed, realizing how horrible she sounded. “Someone told me that I should date you, so that he would notice me.” Seeing Gray's expression caused her eyes to well with tears, but she struggled to hold them back. “I-I'm so sorry, Gray. I told myself I wouldn't do that, but then I-, but then I did. I'm so, so sorry. I should go.”

Not leaving him time to process her confession, she quickly rose to her feet and turned away, ready to run as fast as she could. After she took her first step, she was halted by a tug on her arm. She whirled around, discovering that Gray was holding her hand, keeping her from running away. Afraid to meet his gaze, she stared at the ground near her feet, watching silently as his stepped closer to hers. In the next moment, she felt a tightness envelop her, and a comforting warmth. Lifting her eyes towards his face, she could not read his expression. His eyes were glossed with sadness, but his lips were turned in a small smile. Her body trembled as she hesitantly returned his embrace.

A long sigh escaped on his breath before he spoke over her shoulder. “Well, now that that's out in the open, shall we finish our dinner? Would hate for food this good to go to waste.” She buried her face in his chest, feeling tremendous waves of guilt flood over her, unable to hold back her tears any longer after hearing the pain in his voice.

“I'm so sorry,” she repeated, blubbering into his chest. “I never wanted to hurt you. I'm.. I'm horrible.” She felt his chest heave with another sigh. Instead of the scorn she expected, deserved even, he shushed her softly, giving her a comforting squeeze. “Wh-why would you want me to stay? Knowing how horrible I am?”

“You're not horrible, and at least you were honest with me,” he began, stepping back from their embrace. “There's no reason we shouldn't finish our evening, as friends.” A faint smile crossed his lips, but she could see he was trying to hide his embarrassment and pain. With a sniffle, she nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, returning his broken smile. They returned to their picnic, sharing an awkward moment of silence while they both attempted to restart their conversation.

Clearing her throat, Tama was the first to break the silence. “Were your powers natural?”

He glanced up, meeting her gaze. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, were you born with your powers? Or did you learn them?”

“Oh. I learned them from my teacher, Master Uor.”

“She must be an excellent teacher,” Tama smiled.

“Yes, she was.”

“Was?”

“Yeah. She died a long time ago.” Gray's face saddened before he continued. “She died saving me from a monster.”

“I- I'm so sorry.”

“It's okay. It was a long time ago. It was the same monster that killed my parents.” He paused, composing himself before the memory could rattle him. “What about you? Did someone teach you your magic?”

“No. It developed on its own. Showed up when I was maybe seven.”

“That's pretty awesome if you think about it. Natural power is even stronger than learned power.”

“I guess so,” she sighed. “I'm not quite sure how to make it more useful, though. There haven't exactly been a lot of illusion mages that could help me learn. I've had to figure it out on my own.”

“Even so, you can do some neat tricks with it. That stuff you did back on our job was impressive. You really saved my tail back there,” he grinned slowly. “Besides, I'm sure there's someone at Fairy Tail who knows a thing or two about illusions. Bickslow helped you figure out how to fly, didn't he?”

“Y-yes, he did.” She hadn't expected Gray to bring up Bickslow, but sure enough, just hearing his name reminded her of how hurt she had been when she watched him with Lisanna. Biting back her anger, she reminded herself that Lisanna was kind to her, and that she wanted them to be happy, even if she wasn't. Raising an eyebrow, Gray took notice of the distress on her face, opting to change the subject instead of pushing the topic further.

“Are you from Magnolia? I don't think I asked that when you joined.”

“Nope,” she retorted contently. “I'd only been here a short while before I joined Fairy Tail. I'm from out west. Have you heard of Dawn City?”

“I believe so. That's near the coast?”

“Yes. That's the one. My parents and I worked for a man out there. Lord something or other. He helped my parents with something before I was born so they repaid him by working on his manor.”

“Wait, so you were a servant?” He sat up, intrigued by her history. He assumed she had always been a guild wizard.

“Something like that.” He could see sadness in her expression despite her smile.

“Huh,” he stated flatly, picturing a younger Tama in a maid's uniform, a smirk crossing his face. “So how does a servant become a guild wizard?” His question was innocent enough, even though his mind was lost somewhere in the gutter.

Taking a deep breath, it was a long moment before she responded, taking some time to consider her answer. Before she even spoke, he regretted asking. “M-my mom didn't like my magic,” she started, shaking the memory from her mind before it could replay itself. “Like I said, my magic just showed up on its own. I didn't have any control of it. One night when I was asleep, I was having a nightmare. Apparently my magic made my nightmares appear in the real world. It really scared my mom. She-,” she cut herself off, again shaking the pain from her mind. “She called me a monster. I woke up to her trying to- trying to...”

“Trying to what?” he inched closer to her, putting his hand reassuringly on her arm.

“Trying to kill me. She had a knife, she was trying to-” he cut her off, seeing how hard it was to discuss the incident.

“You're no monster,” he reassured her. “I know I'm glad you survived that, and everyone else at Fairy Tail, too. Thanks for telling me.” Taking a deep breath, she nodded, still trying to bury the memory.

“Sounds like you have experience with monsters,” she finally said after a moment of silence.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

"May... May I see?"

"Huh? See? What do you mean?"

"Your memory. Of that monster. If you're okay with it."

"Why would you want to see that?"

"I... I want to understand what you've been through. It's okay if you aren't comfortable with it. I'm sorry for asking."

Without a word, his hands took hold of her wrists, raising them beside his face. "Is this how you do it?"

"Y-yes," she nodded timidly. "Okay. Relax. Clear your mind, then focus your thoughts on that day."

She placed her hands on his cheeks, her fingertips resting on his temples. Closing her eyes, she slowed her breathing to match his. She focused her magic on Gray's thoughts. He felt her presence in his mind. Slowly, he shifted his hands to her thighs, gripping just above her knees to brace himself as she delved into the painful memory of the day Deliora first attacked, seeing it through his eyes.

All around her, she could see mountains of rubble. Fires ravaged what was left of the town Gray had called home. Towering above her was a creature that belonged only in nightmares. She wanted to scream, but the sound caught in her throat. She choked on the air that was thick with ash and smoke. The smell of burning flesh attacked her nostrils. She struggled to maintain focus as terror welled up inside her, her muscles quivering involuntarily. As she blinked away the blinding soot, she realized the source of the odor was closer than she thought. Just beyond her feet, two bodies were buried in debris, their arms outstretched from the pile, lifelessly reaching out for her. Although she had never met them personally, she knew by the way her heart shattered that these were Gray's parents.

That was the last she could handle. She fell backwards as she severed the link between their minds, her voice still choking her. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked back to Gray, who was still kneeling, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, his eyes downcast as he struggled to keep the memory from replaying itself. Seeing him this way broke her heart. She hated herself for asking him to show her. She wanted to beg forgiveness, but she knew there were no words to make it right. Now she knew firsthand how he felt, a flood of rage and sorrow coursing through her veins.

Before she realized what she was doing, she threw her arms around him, embracing him desperately. Unsure whether she was doing it for him, or to find relief herself, she squeezed his body tightly, clinging to anchor herself to reality and chase away the nightmare. It wasn't until she felt his own wrap around her that she noticed she had soaked his shirt with tears.

"I'm sorry!" she stammered as she pulled away, brushing her hand across his shirt in an attempt to dry it. "Your shirt is all wet."

He blinked back the memory and reached for her hand, delicately grasping it. "It's fine." He pulled her hand back beside his face. "Look again." His voice was calm, a slight smile complimented the gesture.

Her hands trembled. Why would he ask her to see that again, she wondered. Hesitantly, she slowly shook her head.

"Trust me."

She did. She knew from their time on Mount Hakobe that she could trust him completely, even though she could not fully explain why she found it so easy to do so. Besides, she owed it to him after how she had treated him. Closing her eyes, she focused her power to reading Gray's thoughts again.

Instead of the gruesome nightmare she expected to see, a montage of peaceful images flooded her mind. A cabin. A young boy with pure white hair. Snow. As a woman with cropped black hair smiled at her, Tama found herself completely at ease.

Confused, she pulled away, staring quizzically at Gray for answers.

"Don't feel sorry for me," he began. "It wasn't all bad. Yeah, that monster destroyed my family. But because of him, I found Master Uor, and she taught me ice-make magic."

“But you said, that monster killed her too.”

“That's true,” he sighed, “I tried to be a big-shot and take down that demon myself. Uor stepped in and saved both me and Lyon.”

“Lyon was the other boy?”

“Yes.” Gray nodded, but the look on his face signaled that he wanted to change the subject. Looking out from under the pavilion, Tama pointed out that the rain was getting heavier, and it was getting late.

“We should probably get going,” she suggested gingerly.

“Let me walk you home.” After they packed up their picnic, Gray used his ice-make magic to create a large umbrella, gesturing for Tama to join him beneath it as they silently walked towards the Thunder Palace.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: NSFW. Lemons, smut, whatever you wanna call it. Enjoy, just, not at work <3
> 
> \--------------------------------

Rain fell steadily as they reached the Thunder Palace. Looking up at the massive home, Gray let out an impressed whistle.

"This is where you live? Fancy."

"It's the Thunder Legion's home. I just moved in. It's... It's really a bit overwhelming to be honest."

"I bet. Looks like the whole guild could live here."

"I suppose they could. Although the house would get leveled if everyone lived here."

He thought for a moment, scratching his chin. "Yeeeeah. Probably not a good idea," he chuckled.

Tama set the picnic basket down near the door, fishing her key from the front pocket. Sliding the key into the lock, she turned back to Gray. "Thank you. For tonight, I mean."

"Don't thank me, it was your idea," he grinned slightly.

"I still feel bad," she sighed. "But I am glad you asked me to stay."

Letting out a sigh, Gray stepped towards her slowly. "Stop being sorry," he whispered as he delicately brushed her bangs aside. As Tama glanced up to meet his gaze, she felt him press his lips to hers, causing her to jolt in surprise.

"G-Gray?!" she stammered as she pulled away, backing herself against the door. Gray sighed, resting his forehead on her shoulder shamefully.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I know you're into someone else. It's just that... Since Mount Hakobe I can't get you out of my head."

"Mount Hakobe...?"

"When you were scared and held on to me. It was kinda cute," he laughed softly. "Felt like you trusted me, so I wanted to keep you safe. But then I couldn't stop thinking about you. I tried, but then you asked me on a date."

"I do trust you, Gray. I had no idea you felt that way about me." She patted his shoulder softly as they shared a remorseful silence. Taking a deep breath, Gray stood up straight, his head hung down, ashamed of selfishly kissing her.

"I should get goi-" Before he could finish his sentence, Tama snatched his shirt collar in her hands and wrenched him towards her, planting her lips firmly on his. The surprise made Gray's knees buckle beneath him, sending him stumbling into her, pinning her to the door with a loud crash. Holding him firmly, she felt his tension lessen as he processed what was happening, finally relaxing into her kiss. Out of breath, he pulled back, staring wide-eyed at her blushing face for answers.

"W-was that just to make someone jealous?" He finally formed the words that had crossed his mind. With a deep sigh, she shook her head. She had spent so long pining over someone who did not return her feelings. Hearing someone admit they liked her made her heart swell, and she wanted more. The feeling of wanting, and being wanted, intoxicated her.

Hands trembling, she placed them on his chest, slowly sliding them up along the buttons of his shirt, resting them on his shoulders. Taking a step forward, he closed the distance between them, carefully placing his hand on her back just above her hip, his other delicately lifting her chin so he could see her face. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as he slowly lowered his face to hers, her lips warmed by his breath as he pressed his against them. Slipping her hands behind his neck, she interlaced her fingers, holding him close as his grip around her tightened.

She knew this was selfish, but she didn't care. She wanted more. For so long she had been alone and hadn't even realized it. However, now that she was sharing this moment, locked tightly in his embrace, she felt safe and wanted. Neither of them minded that they were getting drenched from the rain as reason gave way to instinct, their tongues gnashing passionately.

Their dance continued until they were both breathless, adventurous hands caressing and exploring. Satisfied chortles escaped their lips as they broke their connection, their eyes agleam as they gazed upon each others' faces.

"Did you still want to get going?" she whispered seductively, her intentions not lost on him.

"Yes," he barked softly, almost a whimper as he attempted to steady his breathing.

"Should probably find your clothes first," she winked, eyeing Gray from head to toe as he discovered he had stripped unintentionally during their kiss. He stood there on the Thunder Legion's porch in nothing but his boxers, leaving nothing to her imagination. She smirked as he blushed, quickly collecting his shirt and pants. Giggling as he finished redressing, she slipped her arm around his and whispered, "Lead the way."

 

 

It did not take long to reach Gray's cabin, despite it being on the opposite edge of Magnolia. In his excitement, Gray had used his ice-make magic to freeze the walkway, expediting their travel. When Tama had started slipping, he scooped her up and skated effortlessly towards his home. By the time they reached his door he had lost his shirt again, this time he did not even attempt to locate it.

He struggled to unlock and open the door as Tama gently kissed his neck, still being held in his strong arms. When the latch finally opened, he slipped on the puddle of rainwater that settled on his porch, causing them to fall flat on his floor just inside the door. An embarrassed groan escaped on his breath as he caught himself just before landing on top of her, however, she broke out in a fit of laughter, wrapping her arms behind his neck and pulling him into a tight embrace.

Swallowing his embarrassment, Gray brought his lips to hers, kissing her slowly and deeply. Carefully climbing to their feet, he shut and locked the door behind them, fumbling blindly with the lock to keep from breaking their connection. She sighed into the kiss as she felt the relief of the lock clicking into place, pulling herself back to gaze at Gray's glistening eyes, her fingers delicately stroking a lock of his raven hair.

A shiver passed through her body as she realized how soaked her dress was, rainwater dripping slowly from it onto the floor. Feeling her shudder from the cold, Gray smiled softly, slipping his hand tactfully behind her. Leaning down to kiss her again, he slowly tugged at her zipper, her dress sliding off her shoulders. Gasping softly at his light touch, Tama blushed, her face hot with desire as his hands delicately brushed her dress down to the floor, stopping to caress her skin along the way.

Her hands trembled as they explored his body, sliding down his back to the waistline of his pants, following along his belt towards the buckle. Awkwardly, she unfastened the over-sized gold clasp, then the button of his pants. Gray was panting, completely breathless as she slowly pulled his zipper down, his pants falling swiftly to the floor.

Biting his lip, he pulled her close before leading her towards his bedroom, just a short walk down the hallway. Taking a seat on the foot of the bed, Tama glanced up at him hesitantly. Seated beside her, Gray stroked her arms gently.

"You okay?" he whispered, his voice hoarse from all the kissing. She nodded, but he could tell she was nervous, pausing to let her speak as he tangled his fingers in a lock of her hair.

"H-have you done this before?" she choked on her words as she spoke. He sighed, nodding slightly.

"Is that okay?" He had been with others before, but had never been ashamed of it.

She nodded again, slower than before. "I-," she whispered, "I haven't." Wringing her hands, she stared at the floor, embarrassed by her lack of experience. She was afraid to continue, afraid she would turn out to be a disappointment.

"We can stop, if you want," he whispered, his eyes sad and tinged with guilt. "We don't have to."

Shaking her head, she held his hand, placing it gently on her chest. "I... I want to." He smiled softly, gently guiding her towards the top of the bed, carefully pushing her back until she was comfortably nestled on the pillows.

With a soft kiss, he whispered in her ear, "I'll be gentle, I promise."

Curling up beside her, Gray softly kissed her neck, gently suckling on her skin. His hands slowly caressed her cheek, then her neck, down to her shoulder. She shuddered as he squeezed her breast firmly, moving up to kiss her lips as his hands lingered there for a long moment. His soft touch tickled and excited her, igniting urges she had never felt before. Returning his kisses, she ran her hands up, tracing his spine until they were lost in the wild tangles of his hair. As she slipped her tongue into his mouth, his hands slid further down her torso, only stopping once they reached the lacy trim of her panties.

With a gentle tug, he pulled her panties down to her knees, then her ankles, then tossed them onto the floor. Breaking away from their kiss, he leaned back, taking a moment to admire her naked form.

"My god you're beautiful," he whispered, his voice deeper than usual. She blushed, unable to form a response, her frustration causing him to smile.

Slipping back beside her, he propped himself up on his elbow, his other hand snaking across her abdomen, his fingertips lightly grazing her skin. He stared deeply in her eyes as his fingers made their way further down, admiring how she squirmed when he touched her, delicately tracing his fingers along her opening. She gasped as he slipped his fingers inside, her arms clambering to grip his body tightly.

She had never felt a sensation such as this. It was even more intoxicating than his kiss, each time his fingers flexed inside her sending her closer to euphoria. She bit her lip to keep from shouting as he slowly jostled his hand around, a satisfied smirk plastered on his face. She felt his excitement growing as it pressed against her leg, begging to be set free from its cloth prison. Between squirms of ecstasy she managed to pull his boxers down, dropping them unceremoniously on the floor.

He moaned pleasurably as she stroked her fingertips along the length of his shaft, as if she were afraid to break it if she grabbed it. With a labored chuckle, he rose to his knees, guiding her hand with his now freed one, wrapping her fingers around his girth. As he pushed his fingers deeper inside her, she could not restrain her voice any longer, loud moans of pleasure forcing their way out. She gripped him tightly, her hand stroking his length in pace with his fingers.

Her body writhed as she seized and squirmed at his gentle touch, driving her crazy. If this was just one part of making love, she wanted more. Gasping, she pulled her hand from him, placing it on his that was busy playing with her, halting his hand motions. He looked at her questioningly, but he understood what she wanted by the pleading in her eyes. With a swift nod, he retracted his fingers, causing her to tremble one last time.

Slowly, Gray crawled on top of her, stroking his hand along her cheek before giving her a small peck on the lips. She was panting, flushed and trembling beneath him. Carefully, he rubbed his tip against her opening, lining himself up, only to be stopped as he started to insert himself.

"Do you have... One of those..?" she whispered, making an indiscernible hand motion. After a moment he realized what she meant, nodding slightly as he fumbled to reach the drawer of his nightstand, unintentionally knocking some clutter to the floor with clumsy hands. Searching the drawer with his outstretched hand, he pulled a small foil packet and gingerly tore it open. Taking a moment to properly dress for the occasion, he turned back to Tama with a smirk.

"Better?" he grinned, leaning down to kiss her cheek. As she nodded breathlessly, he re positioned himself above her, spreading her legs carefully. With a loud gulp, she gripped Gray's sides firmly, still a bit nervous as he pressed himself against her. Lowering himself, he slowly pushed his way inside her, pinning her body down to the bed. A muffled scream found its way out of her as he made his way deeper.

_It hurt_. He was much larger than his fingers had been, and she felt like she was being stretched and ripped. At the same time, surges of pleasure flooded her nerves. The sensation was confusing, her body seizing from both pleasure and pain.

Her scream startled him, it was somewhere between satisfied and injured. Pausing his advance, he wrapped his arms beneath her comfortingly, trying to read her expression. "Did I hurt you?" he asked hesitantly.

He had, but she did not want to tell him that. Although it hurt, she liked the way it felt, him filling her completely. She swallowed back the pain, steeling her resolve. She did not want to stop. "Just a little," she panted breathlessly, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I'm fine," she whispered with a small smile.

With another reassuring nod, he slowly pulled his hips back, then inched his way back inside. Each time he pulled back, he pushed himself slightly deeper inside her, his motions methodical and patient. She rocked her hips beneath him, at first in pace with his thrusts. However, each time his hips crashed into hers, she was pushed closer to an ecstasy she had only daydreamed before. Unable to restrain herself, she rocked her hips faster with each push, Gray speeding up in turn.

Faster, harder, deeper. What had started as a slow, rhythmic dance became something animalistic, their bodies writhing and thrashing by carnal instincts. Pulling him into a passionate, messy kiss, her body tensed, her muscles clenching uncontrollably in orgasm. Between gasps of kisses, he growled, screaming in climax as his seed filled the thin rubber barrier between them, his body flopping onto hers as his muscles gave out.

Panting, completely satisfied, she wrapped her arms around him, curling into his embrace as he stretched beside her. Once he caught his own breath, his arms enveloped her, pulling her close to him as they shared an exhausted smile. Kissing her forehead softly, she nestled her face on his chest.

“You're an animal,” he chuckled softly as he gave her a squeeze.

“I'm sorry,” she grinned, settling comfortably against him.

“I like it,” he smiled. “Tama I-”

“Hmm?” she poked her head up to see his face, but instead of finishing his sentence, he shook his head with a smile.

“It's nothing.”

“Alright,” she whispered, tucking herself back into the crook of his shoulder. They cuddled silently as the rhythmic melody of rain lulled them into a deserved slumber.

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

Sunlight trickled through the window panes, gradually illuminating the room as Tama blinked awake. A small smile crossed her lips as she noticed how peaceful Gray looked while sleeping, his chest gracefully rising and falling with each serene breath. Giving him a gentle squeeze, she sighed softly as she settled against his side, resting her cheek on his shoulder so she could see his face. Her fingers delicately traced the guild mark on his chest, her eyes focused on the contour of his lips.

His eyes fluttered as her fingers trailed across the small scar above his eye. As he became aware of her light touch, he smiled, pulling her close.

“Good morning,” he whispered, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Good morning,” she giggled in response, tenderly stroking her fingers through his hair.

“Sleep well?” he asked groggily, clasping her shoulder firmly.

“Mmhmm,” she nodded. “I have no idea what time it is, though. We should probably get going to the guild.” Sitting up to stretch, she flashed Gray a playful smirk.

“ _Orrrrrrrr-_ ” he grinned, pulling her back down to him. “We could just stay here all day.”

“All day?” she chuckled skeptically.

“ _All_ day,” he whispered, peppering her cheek with wet smooches, making her giggle. She pulled herself on top of Gray, pinning his hands to the bed with hers. As her hand gripped his, he heard a distinctive crinkle. Then, she freed that hand, revealing the square package she had stealthily placed there.

“You asked for it, handsome,” she winked.

 

 

“Whoah,” he gasped, half chuckling through his mile-wide grin. “A guy could get used to that.”

“I suppose I could too,” she whispered coyly, kissing his cheek before she sat up to search for her dress. “We really should get going now.”

“Aw,” he protested. “What's the rush?”

“I feel bad enough distracting you from your solo jobs. I'd feel worse missing Master Makarov's announcement.”

“That's today, isn't it,” he groaned, propping himself up slowly. “You are one hell of a distraction.” She chortled as he kissed her one last time before he left the bed and headed towards the shower. Before he reached the bathroom, she stopped him for one more hug.

“I'll see you at the guild?” she asked, a bashful smile on her lips. He nodded, giving her a squeeze.

“See you then.”

 

As she shut the cabin door behind her, she couldn't help but smile. Never had she felt so at ease as she did then. She anxiously anticipated seeing him again later, but she knew she needed to get home to the Thunder Palace for now. Between the rain and all the activity, she felt sticky and gross.

She was relieved to find the Raijinshuu house empty. Her teammates must already be at the guild, awaiting the Master's announcement. Enjoying the serenity of the silence and her afterglow, she quickly showered and got dressed, selecting a low-cut tank top, a short vest, and a pair of denim shorts. Typically she would not show so much skin, but she felt particularly confident this morning. As she looked in the mirror, she admired her new style, opting to leave her hair down as opposed to her usual braids. With a nod, she was satisfied with her appearance and headed towards Fairy Tail.

 

When she arrived at the guild, she felt her confidence swell. As she stepped inside, she noticed most of the members were in attendance, scattered around the guild hall, immersed in conversation. Natsu sat at a table across from Lucy, turning swiftly around when Tama walked past.

“Gra-?!” he began to shout, his smirk fading when he saw Tama. Cutting off his greeting, he sniffed the air feverishly and scowled at her, a low growl resonating in his chest.

“Good morning Natsu, Lucy,” she waved excitedly, until she registered the anger in his expression. Suddenly feeling small in the face of Natsu's silent seething, she turned and walked away awkwardly. _What was that about,_ she wondered as Levy waved her over.

“Morning Levy,” she grinned, relieved to be met by her warm smile. Even Gajeel smiled at her. _Wait. Why is he smirking?_

“Morning Tama!” Levy beamed enthusiastically.

“Hello, Gajeel,” Tama greeted him somewhat hesitantly, his smirk widening as he crossed his arms.

“Busy night?” he teased. That's when she realized it. He could smell Gray's scent, and it was all over her. She sighed, understanding Natsu must have noticed it as well, his nose being even more powerful than the iron dragon slayer's. However, she was unsure why the fire mage was so upset.

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” she grinned, her face flushed with guilt.

“You two a couple now? Good on you,” he applauded, slowly clapping his hands together.

“What?!” Levy exclaimed, completely shocked. “What did I miss here? Tell me!”

Tama blushed as she was interrogated. “I- I'm not sure. Maybe. I don't know yet.”

“That's great, Tama! Who is it?” Levy practically jumped out of her seat to grab Tama's hands, waiting for the juicy gossip.

“Give it a rest, shorty,” Gajeel scolded with a chuckle as he patted Levy's head. “She'll tell us when she's ready.” He tossed a glare towards Tama that she immediately understood as a “make-a-liar-outta-me-and-I'll-kill-you” stare. With a gulp, she nodded quickly, somewhat relieved she didn't have to tell Levy. Yet.

Just then, a terrifying howl echoed through the guild hall. “YOU!!!” an angry voice shouted from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Juvia clenching her fist, an angry, judgmental finger pointed directly at Tama.

“You filthy harlot!” Juvia screamed, her hands shaking with anger. “How dare you!” Before Tama could entirely comprehend the verbal assault, a powerful wave crashed over her, the waters swirling about her, ensnaring her inside an aqua sphere that hovered just above the ground. She gagged, trying to hold her breath as the world outside the bubble grew silent. Some of her guildmates shouted to Juvia, but she could not make out what they were saying. As Gajeel rushed towards the watery prison, Juvia summoned a hurricane-strength wall of water, forcing everyone back behind the razor sharpness of her enchanted liquid.

From the corner of her eye, Tama saw Gray enter the guild hall, then the Raijinshuu members join the lobby from the upper floor. She struggled to hold her breath, her strength ebbing from her as the water kept her paralyzed. _Great,_ she thought. _This is it. Spend a whole life running, and this is how I die. With everyone watching. At least... At least..._ her eyes felt heavy as she gasped, the pressure of the air trapped in her lungs forcing its way out, water rushing to take its place. Choking, she felt herself slipping out of consciousness. _I guess this is goodbye, Fairy Tail._

 

 

From the sidelines, wizards struggled to assist their comrade, only to be pushed back by Juvia's enraged whirlpool.

“Solid script: Air!” Levy shouted, conjuring an air bubble and hurling it towards the sphere holding Tama captive. However, as it passed through the swirling barricade, Juvia launched a blade of water towards it, severing the link between the letters of her spell.

“What the hell, Juvia?!” Gajeel shouted, punching and swinging at the barrier in vain.

“Stay out of this! That tramp deserves nothing but death!” Juvia shrieked maniacally, clenching her fists.

“Juvia!” The voice of Juvia's beloved Gray had shouted her name. Amidst her rage, she had not noticed him enter. “Stop this!”

“No, my love! Not until she pays for what she's done!”

 

 

Before the light faded from her world, Tama saw Levy cast a spell. Carefully reading the letters before Juvia slashed them from existence, she made out A-I-R. _A-I-R_ , she repeated in her brain, the lack of oxygen slowing her thought process. _A-I-R. Ai-r... Air. AIR!_

That gave her an idea. If she could just muster enough power, she could break herself free. Struggling to keep herself anchored to this world, she summoned the last of her magical energy. A tiny pocket of air formed around her mouth, then expanded as she channeled her magic. Gasping in desperately, she forced a surge of energy to the air bubble, causing it to swell rapidly, eventually bursting the watery orb. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, as her body crashed to the floor, the remnants of the magical fluid splashing around her as she remained motionless.

“What?!” Juvia shouted, gritting her teeth. As she prepared to summon a mighty wave to finish off Tama's unconscious body, her wall of water froze, then shattered. “What's-? No!”

As soon as Gray had frozen the swirling waters, Gajeel crashed through them with his Iron Dragon Fists. Levy ran just behind Gajeel, rushing to Tama's side.

“No! Get back! Let that wench DIE!” Before Juvia could finish casting the spell she was preparing, an unbreakable wall of ice appeared in front of her, separating her from the others. She pounded her fists desperately at the wall, still shrieking in vain.

Levy knelt beside Tama, quickly analyzing her condition. “She's not breathing!” With trembling hands, she attempted to administer the CPR methods she had read about.

“You're not doing it right!” Gajeel shouted.

“I-I'm not strong enough,” Levy sobbed. “If only Wendy were here-”

“Outta my way!” Gajeel shouted, brushing Levy aside.

“No, Gajeel! You'll break her if you do that!” Levy shrieked, grabbing Gajeel's still-iron fists. Gray pushed them both back, folding his hands on Tama's chest to start compressions.

“Don't you dare die on me,” Gray demanded, pressing on her sternum as Levy had, but much more forcefully. Carefully raising her chin, he pressed his lips to hers, exhaling deeply into her mouth as Juvia shrieked from beyond the frozen wall. He repeated the process, his hopes dimming the longer she laid there motionless.

“Come on, Tama,” Levy blubbered as Gray continued.

“Wake up, damn it. You're stronger than this!” Gajeel's tone almost sounded compassionate.

“Don't you dare,” Gray repeated, his eyes starting to tear up. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled into her mouth again. This time, the air penetrated the fluid in her lungs, causing her to gag and cough weakly. Gray sighed with relief as her eyes opened, their usual luster dim and cloudy. “Don't scare me like that,” he whispered, pulling her into an embrace before her mind fully came to.

 


	21. Chapter 21

She awoke still feeling paralyzed. Her body felt weak, her vision blurry, and her hearing muffled. It took a few minutes for her senses to clear enough for her to realize the black blur above her was keeping her immobilized.

Before she could tell who the blur was, a blue blur pushed its way through, shoving the black blur away as it gripped her firmly.

“-ank goo-ess!” the blur shouted.

“Wel-me -ack,” a larger black blur grunted. Tama struggled her way from blue's grip, sitting up and blinking rapidly to remove the haziness from her vision, finally able to make out the blurs. Levy was hugging her tightly, almost too tightly. Gajeel knelt behind the blunette, his face adorned with a satisfied smirk. Tama's hand felt heavy. As she looked to it for understanding, she realized Gray was holding it between his, a sad smile directed towards her.

She tried to speak but the words would not form. Her throat ached from nearly drowning, her breath hitching as she tried again, only to end up in a coughing fit. Gray slid closer to her, pulling her head to rest on his chest.

“Take it easy,” he whispered low enough for only the nearby wizards to hear. It felt good to nuzzle against him, until she remembered where they were, in the middle of the guild hall, their entire guild watching. And Juvia.

With a stinging gulp, Tama rose to her feet unsteadily, her eyes transfixed on Juvia's silhouette on the other side of the transparent wall. As she took an unbalanced step forward, she was halted by Gray's hand on her wrist.

“I'll take care of her,” he said softly.

Hearing those words set Tama off. Not caring to understand her sudden anger, she wrenched her hand from Gray's, glaring at him ferociously.

“No!” she shouted through clenched teeth. Startled, Gray stumbled backwards a step.

“I'll handle her!” he repeated, louder and more aggravated than before.

“No!!” Tama growled, visibly enraged. “I can't have you fight my battles for me!”

Gray was speechless as she stomped towards the wall, stopping just inches from it. Tama glared at Juvia through the barricade, unblinking and scheming. She saw Juvia's lips move to speak, but she did not hear what she said, not that she cared anyway. _The water mage had attacked_ _her. Humiliated her. In front of her guild mates._

Tama's jaw tightened as she planted her feet firmly on the wooden floor, her eyes still glued to the water wizard. Holding her hand out to her side, she channeled her energy, depleted earlier but now amplified by her rage. She _wanted_ to hurt her. Make her sorry for messing with her. Make sure she never bothered her again. _This psycho bitch would be sorry._

In her outstretched hand, a long, sinewy object started to take shape. As the glow of magical energy subsided, a chain mace came into view, the links long enough to tangle on the floor by her feet. With a wild roar, Tama swung the weapon at the ice wall, shattering it in one clean blow. As the ice fell away, Juvia transformed into water and relocated across the room, returning to her human shape.

Tama strutted towards the water mage, the two circling each other in a battle of dominance.

“You can't win,” Juvia scoffed. “Your illusions can't even touch me. I'm made of water!”

Tama did not need to be reminded the stalker's body was completely fluid, as she announced it every chance she had. Instead, Juvia's hubris caused Tama to smirk. Sure, she was no usual opponent. Against anyone else, Juvia's anatomy would be an advantage. But the rain maker was not very bright. The illusion mage was experienced with formulating strategies, taking pleasure from it even, while the blunette relied too much on dumb luck.

A sinister cackle emanated from the jade-haired wizard.

“I don't know what you're laughing about! You've already lost this!” Juvia shouted, poising herself, but the monstrous look in Tama's eyes left her noticeably unhinged. She took a half step backwards, but that was her biggest mistake. Juvia had given up ground in the test of dominance, opening herself to Tama's attack.

It was all over in a matter of seconds, as Juvia's screams echoed through the guild hall. Not the screams from earlier, of anger and jealousy, but screams of pain. In one swift motion, Tama had whipped the chain mace at Juvia. The water mage was caught off-guard when she tried to dissolve before the metal links struck her, her body instead remaining tangible. The chain spun and wrapped around her tightly, the metal coils pinching her flesh as Tama yanked it tighter.

“What?!” Juvia screamed painfully, trying to figure out why she was unable to shift. “H-how?!”

Tama kicked Juvia's feet out beneath her, sending her crashing to the floor, completely immobilized by the fetters. With an angry grin, Tama shoved the heel of her boot into Juvia's sternum, kicking her breath from her lungs.

“Magic blocking chain,” Tama scoffed coldly as she put her sole to Juvia's throat. “I thought I lost this already?” she mocked. She pushed her foot down, steadily increasing the pressure on the stalker's throat. “How do you like it? Having the life choked out of you?” When Juvia didn't answer, she gave the chains a swift yank and kicked her throat, causing the ensnared mage to gasp. “How do you like it, BITCH?!”

Juvia panted weakly, her eyes filled with terror as Tama bent down towards her, her face just a breath away from her own, the illusion mage's blue eyes tinted with an angry shade of red.

“Ever mess with me again, and there will be nothing left of you. I'll turn your crazy ass into steam and watch you drift away in the wind.” As Tama finished whispering her threat, she clenched the hilt of the mace firmly, her face alight with a terrifying grin. As the illusion mage began to chuckle, she channeled more energy into her weapon, setting it ablaze with a crimson as fiery as her mood.

The trapped water mage screamed in agony as the scorching links charred her skin where they made contact.

Drunk with power and dominance, Tama cackled a blood-curdling bellow as her attacker writhed beneath her feet. She had always held back, never wanting to hurt anyone, but _not this time._ This time she gave in to the blood lust coursing through her veins, allowing her magic to take control and guide her actions. As her eyes drank in the sight of torment she caused, other horrors began to take shape above her.

She truly had lost her mind, somewhere between nearly dying and exacting revenge. Without her knowledge, illusionary nightmares flew around the guild lobby, the same hellish demons that haunted her dreams after watching them tear her dear friend Kip apart. No longer in control of her magic, the hellions solidified, leaving a swarm of terrible, carnivorous bats to terrorize her guild.

All it took was one glance up at the rafters to bring her back to reality. Frozen before her nightmares, she stumbled to the ground, releasing Juvia's throat from her boot, her hand trembling on the hilt of her mace. One of the beasts had locked on to her, diving towards her with giant fangs bared.

Tama screamed. Fairies ducked for cover as the beasts flung themselves towards the wizards. Realizing the beasts were of her own creation, she tried to dispel them. However, her attempts failed. _She_ had not summoned them, _her rage did._ She had no control over these monsters.

The bat with eyes for its summoner drew nearer, only a second away from sinking its teeth into Tama's flesh. Tama stared into the mouth of the demon, frozen by terror, her mind trapped in memory of the cave. Just before it would have been tasting her blood, a shimmering purple light enveloped Tama, the beasts fading out of existence.

“That's enough of that,” Freed scolded breathlessly as he finished writing the last rune on the floor, nullifying Tama's magic. The chains in her hand disappeared, freeing a battered Juvia. A handful of wizards rushed to aid the water mage, carrying her to the infirmary.

Tama panted breathlessly as she looked around the guild hall. Destruction on this scale was typical, but only after guild-wide brawls. This was different though, as all eyes were fixed on her. Eyes full of fear.

“That's enough, Night Terror.” Bickslow clapped his hands to her shoulder, startling her. Unlike the other wizards, Bickslow smiled at her. “That was amazing.”

“A-amazing...?!” she could not believe what she had just heard. She was terrified of herself, afraid of what her anger had caused – could cause if she ever lost control like that again. “N-no...” she scurried from his grip, climbing to her feet. “I- I'm a monster!”

Before anyone could stop her, Tama cloaked herself, hiding from view. She ran outside as fast as her feet would carry her, not stopping even after passing through the gateway in the courtyard.

“W-wait!” Gray shouted, starting to follow her outside, but as he stepped forward, Bickslow's totems surrounded him, knocking him to the floor. “The hell?!”

“Keep him busy, babies!” Bickslow shouted as he rushed for the door himself, only to be stopped by Master Makarov's giant fist as it crashed down in front of the door, preventing anyone from leaving.

“Now if you _children_ would settle down, I have an announcement to make!” Makarov growled. His speech fell on deaf ears as a brawl broke out. Natsu shouted something at Gray, then punched him, Bickslow diving into the duel right after. One by one, the Fairies found reason to jump into the fray.

“But, what about Tama?” Evergreen asked Makarov softly, staying out of the fight.

“You'll just have to tell her later,” he barked. When Juvia reentered alongside Wendy, fully healed by the sky dragon slayer, he put an end to the brawl with a vicious shout. “Now, listen up! It's time for the S-Class trials!”

 


End file.
